How does massively parallel sequencing contribute to biomarker development

T development of validated and qualified preclinical and clinical biomarkers as surrogate endpoints of toxicity or disease or as early diagnostic indicators of disease progression is a complex process. The development of microarrays in the 1990’s had initially raised hopes for faster and possibly more reproducible generation of data which could be used for biomarker discovery, arguably with more or less success. Genomics and related -omics data from massively parallel sequencing (MPS) technologies have to be tested against even higher expectations and are being put under scrutiny. Comparative analyses of microarray data and MPS data will be reviewed, implications and challenges for biomarker development will be discussed.