The rare and the common: scale and the genetic imaginary in Alzheimer's disease drug development.
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Authors
Publication Date
2020Journal Title
New Genet Soc
ISSN
1463-6778
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Volume
39
Issue
1
Pages
101-126
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Physical Medium
Electronic-eCollection
Metadata
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Milne, R. (2020). The rare and the common: scale and the genetic imaginary in Alzheimer's disease drug development.. New Genet Soc, 39 (1), 101-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/14636778.2019.1637718
Abstract
In this paper I examine how the promissory value of genetics is constituted through processes of scale and scaling, focussing on the relationship between "rare" and "common" forms of disease. I highlight the bodies and spaces involved in the production of post-genomic knowledge and technologies of Alzheimer's disease and the development of new disease-modifying drugs. I focus on the example of the development of a monoclonal antibody therapy for Alzheimer's disease. I argue that the process of therapeutic innovation, from genetic studies and animal models to phase III clinical trials, reflects the persistent importance of a genetic imaginary and a mutually constitutive relationship between the rare and the common in in shaping visions of Alzheimer's disease medicine. Approaching this relationship as a question of scale, I suggest the importance of attending to how and where genomic knowledge is "scaled" or proves resistant to scaling.
Sponsorship
Research contributing to this paper was funded through the ethical, legal and social implications workpackage of the IMI European Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia project.
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14636778.2019.1637718
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/296936
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