International Biomarkers Conference on Rare, Polyfactorial and Neglected Diseases
December 10th 2009 - Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Paris , France

Organized by Genopole® together with Genethon, partner of the ADNA program (Advanced Diagnostics for New Therapeutic Approaches) program coordinated by Mérieux Alliance, the conference gathered in Paris on December 10th, 2009, various actors implicated in the discovery, follow up and validation of new biomarkers in the development of a personalized medicine.
Conference first session was dedicated to monogenic rare diseases. Thomas Voit, Scientific and Medical Director of the Institute of Myology presented several types of biomarkers related to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Two points were highlighted during his talk : the importance of miRNA which expression patterns vary according to the neuromuscular diseases, and the choice of the methodology used for identification of the biomarkers and their functions. Brenda Wong, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center de Cincinnati (USA) presented her team's results on the use of biomarkers in diagnostic as well as pathophysiological and therapeutic follow up in DMD.
Besides, the talk of Marc Peschanski, Scientific Director of ISTEM laboratory was related to biomarkers use in screening of potential therapeutic compounds. The technique developed by ISTEM's researchers allows to identify biomarkers in a population of embryonic stem cells carrying DM1 mutation combined with Steinert disease.

Talks from all sessions will soon be available on Génopole® website.