Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sakarindr Bhumiratana, Chairman of the Center of TCELS, Ministry of Science and Technology; Dr. Nares Damrongchai, Director of TCELS; Prof. Dr. Teri Manolio, Director of the Division of Genome Medicine, National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), NIH; and Prof. Dr. Wasun Chantratita, Head of the Medical Genome Center in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University and TCELS, recently met together with Dr. Pichet Durongkaveroj, the Minister of Science and Technology, to discuss international collaboration in science and technology between Thailand and the USA. This meeting was a follow up from the last one held on 10th March, 2013 at the US NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sakarindr raised the issue of associating human genome know-how with applying efficient prevention, care and treatment. This included pharmacogenomics; which involves modifying drugs that correspond to genetic diversity of genes in the Thai population in order to avoid life-threatening allergic reactions, identifying causes of undiagnosed/rare diseases, and treating cancer. Cancer treatment that originates from chromosome disorder can be used for specific drug therapy, which cancels cells corresponding to the genes of individual patients. It also avoids the side effects of chemotherapy and is a precision medicine. The US President has given priority to this issue and allocated a large budget to support ongoing research in this field. In his State of the Union address, during the 2015 inauguration, it was emphasized that precision medicine needs reliable genetic data from whole genome sequencing for analysis and treatment. The Thai Minister of Science and Technology also underlined the importance of this issue.
The Chairman of the TCELS said that Prof. Dr. Teri has expressed an interest in visiting the operation of pharmacogenomics at the Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University. She also is interested in the treatment of severe allergic reactions to Stevens Johnson syndrome, which occurs in the Thai and ASEAN population at a higher rate than in other ethnic groups. This collaborative project, which is between Ramathibodi Hospital, the TCELS and NIH, praised Thai clinical research in genetic medication for being among the world’s leaders. Many international institutions use case studies from Thai research, which is part of the South East Asian Pharmacogenomics Research Network (SEAPHARM); established by Thailand in conjunction with other ASEAN countries. The first and second meeting of SEAPHARM took place in Thailand in 2012 and 2013, respectively, while the third one was in Indonesia in 2014. The most recent meeting was held in Malaysia during 12th and 13th March, 2015. The next one will be held in Thailand in 2016, followed by the 2017 meeting in Singapore.
Dr. Nares stated that scientific and technical collaboration between the USA and Thai governments is a great opportunity for Thailand to strengthen and advance Thai know-how further at the top level of the region, especially in genomic technologies. At the conclusion of this meeting, all parties agreed that detailed studies in promoting a genomic database together with those in clinical treatment need to be solidified. Not only medical, but also agricultural studies need to be carried out in parallel. The TCELS, as an agency, has focused on technology and genomic medicine, and continuously supported research and development (R&D) in pharmacogenomics and genomic medicine. Operating the TCELS has led to many current services in hospital and diagnostic assays. In addition, the Genome Technology Research Unit, National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Ministry of Science and Technology, has ongoing research in high-throughput proteomics that focuses on plants and agriculture.