The Impact of the Human Genome Project on China Pharmaceutical Industry 20 Years Later

The Human Genome Project (HGP) is the first and greatest endeavor so far to understand ourselves and all other types of life through the vast international collaboration. Since the Human Genome Project's introduction and completion 20 years ago, various human genome centers have been established worldwide to research on how the humane genetic makeup can influence the discovery of drugs and vaccines for evolving diseases and genetic disorders, which was also a new era of pharmacogenomics in China. Since then, China's pharmaceutical industry has been working hard in the world's pharmaceutical sector to make available drugs, as various drugs and vaccines have been developed by discovering human genetic information.

What is the Human Genome Project?

The Human Genome Project was created to uncover the genetic information present in the human genome and establish the structure and function of human genes, (1) which was a 13-year-long, openly financed project launched in 1990 to determine the euchromatic human genome's DNA sequence within a period of 15 years.(2) Some scientists and nonscientists, viewed the Human Genome Project with uncertainty in its initial periods. A raised concern was whether the project's enormous cost would outweigh possible benefits. Today, the Human Genome Project's tremendous success is entirely obvious. The completion of this project not only established a new phase in medicine, but it also led to massive developments in the types of technology used to sequence DNA.

Since the beginning of the Human Genome Project, it was governed by two primary principles. First, to move beyond boundaries, it invited collaborators from every country, created an all-exclusive initiative to understand our common molecular heritage, and benefit from diverse approaches.

Secondly, it stated that all assembled information on the Human Genome Sequence should be available to allow free access for scientists and academia in the industry.

More than 18 countries in the world contributed to the Human Genome Project when it was completed.(2) Eventually, a group of researchers that publicly funded the human genome project got united to form the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium (HGSC). (3)

The two primary goals of the Human Genome Project, according to the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, were:

· To build genetic and physical maps of human and mouse genomes;

· Sequencing genomes of used and worms as a test run for sequencing the human genome

The Human Genome Project began immediately when the goals turned out successful.

Discovering Genome Sequencing

The first genetic blueprint of a human being was put together about 20 years ago by an international group of scientists. They discovered the three billion units of DNA that made up the human genome.(4) Technically, unlocking the human DNA is one of the most remarkable scientific researches in history. Uncovering the DNA map was prompted scientists to isolate genes responsible for several human characteristics. More research went on, and as of 2003, the Human Genome Project was officially closed after the release of a full human genome.

Nowadays, gene sequencing and unlocking human DNA has become an automated process. With the discovery of the human genome, many researchers have studied gene sequencing and made findings on the gene that causes various diseases such as cancers.

Impact of HGP on the Pharmaceutical Industry

The success of the Human Genome project in 2003 has made the complete human genome sequence available for scientists and researchers worldwide. For the biomedical community and the pharmaceutical industry, the human genome database's availability has prompted and enhanced the identification of mutated genes, most of which are responsible for hereditary diseases. Pharmacogenomics (the study of the association between genetics and drug response) has helped find a cure to various diseases according to infer-individual differences.(4) This implies that each individual can be treated based on their genetic information.

With the discovery of the Human Genome Project, the pharmaceutical industry has developed a greater understanding of how individuals with their genotype respond to certain drugs, which has allowed pharmaceutical companies and pharma ingredients manufacturers to identify the subgroups of people that a particular drug will benefit. Furthermore, the pharmaceutical industry has used the knowledge of individual genomic sequences to provide appropriate and effective drugs for various health conditions. 

Therefore, discovering the human genome sequence has been a great advantage to the pharmaceutical industry and creates prospects for more development.

Significance  of the HGP to China Pharmaceutical Industry

China successfully joined the Human Genome Project in 1999 and took part in about 1% of the total Human Genome Project efforts. Over the past 20 years, tremendous achievements in the life sciences and human health have been accomplished by Chinese scientists. As of 2011, 589 new human functional genes were first reported by Chinese scientists and 159 gene sequences were patented. (5)

After decades of efforts, China's pharmaceutical industry experienced an increase from 1.63% in 1998 to 2.77% in 2009. In 2010, a total sales of US $41.1 billion was made and becoming the third-largest sales worldwide. The gross industrial output value accumulated to RMB 229 billion with biopharmaceuticals, which indicated an increase of 24.24% increase over the previous year and the annual value of industrial sales reached RMB 128.6 billion, up by 17.12% in 2013.(6) As of 2017, China was the world’s second-largest national pharmaceutical market—worth $122.6 billion. It was also the biggest emerging market for pharmaceuticals with growth tipped to reach $145 billion to $175 billion by 2022. (7)

Great progress has been made  in China concerning Isolating monogenic disease genes. With the development of the genome sequence, China scientists discovered the first disease-related gene which was the human gap junction protein β-3 (GJB3) (related to high-frequency hearing loss). In addition, several hereditary disease-related genes have been localized within the human genome such as He-Zhao deficiency (gene related to agenesis of permanent teeth formation and development). (8)

Additionally, China's geneticists have isolated genes related to cancers such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and genes associated with other common chronic diseases. (9) They have also been able to research the gene sequence of natural enemies and disease-causing organisms to produce fast-acting drugs.

Ultimately, China's pharmaceutical industry has discovered five groups of drugs to prevent specific diseases and disorders. They are tacrolimus (also known as FK506-immunosuppressant drug), cyclosporine A (immunosuppressant), cyclophosphamide (used as chemotherapy), warfarin (anticoagulant), and azathioprine (an immunosuppressive antimetabolite). (10)

Today, China pharmaceutical industry is one of the top 5 in the world and remains one of the leading countries in pharmacogenomics, providing solutions to various gene associated disorders.

References

1 What is the Human Genome Project? . October 28, 2018,  https://www.genome.gov/human-genome-project/What

2 Nature Education 1(1):219 (2008) 

3 https://www.genome.gov/11006939/ihg-sequencing-centers

4 'The wondrous map (June 21, 2020).': How unlocking human DNA changed the course of science. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jun/21/human-genome-project-unlocking-dna-covid-19-cystic-fibrosis-molecular-scientists

5 Sci China Life Sci 2012 Mar;55(3):268-82.

6 Pharmaceutical Industry in China: Policy, Market and IP.(Sep. 07, 2019).  https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-8102-7_10

7 https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/19/chinas-pharmaceutical-industry-is-poised-for-major-growth.html#:~:text=China%27s%20pharmaceutical%20industry%20is%20poised%20for%20major%20growth.,strongest%20organic%20growth%20among%20large%20pharmaceutical%20...%20

8 J. Dent Res 2001 Aug;80(8):1716-20.

9 J. Mol Med (Berl). 2004; 82(4): 214–222.

10 Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2015 May; 36(5): 535–543.

About the Author

Lin Zhang, M.D., senior director of a health care industry company in the United States. With the experience in clinical medicine, biotechnology, health industry and other fields, he is responsible for the research and development of plant medicine, functional food and health products. He was a clinician and worked for the National Cancer Institute, FDA and the National Cancer Center of Japan for many years.