The key role of genomics in modern vaccine and drug design for emerging infectious diseases

Abstract

It can be argued that the arrival of the "genomics era" has significantly shifted the paradigm of vaccine and therapeutics development from microbiological to sequence-based approaches. Genome sequences provide a previously unattainable route to investigate the mechanisms that underpin pathogenesis. Genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, structural genomics, proteomics, and immunomics are being exploited to perfect the identification of targets, to design new vaccines and drugs, and to predict their effects in patients. Furthermore, human genomics and related studies are providing insights into aspects of host biology that are important in infectious disease. This ever-growing body of genomic data and new genome-based approaches will play a critical role in the future to enable timely development of vaccines and therapeutics to control emerging infectious diseases. © 2009 Seib et al.