Diagnostic potential of blood-based biomarkers in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the central nervous system (CNS). There is a significant delay in diagnosing MS as the symptoms and tests overlap with other diseases. Blood-based biomarkers, which quantify fragments of proteins involved in MS pathophysiology, have the potential as diagnostic biomarkers.

Biomarker-guided drug development provides value for patients, payers and drug developers: lessons learned from 25 years in the biomarker industry.

Introduction: There is an urgent, persistent, need for better biomarkers in clinical drug development. More informative biomarkers can increase the likelihood of drug advancement or approval, and implementing biomarkers increases the success rate in drug development. Biomarkers may guide decisions and allow resources to be directed to the projects most likely to succeed.