In many countries, doctors across the given country have access to our complete medical history. Past illnesses, diseases, & surgeries are some of the pieces of data doctors currently have access to. The industry has unfortunately been prone to hacks & data breaches.

In the past 20 years, doctors have increasingly asked us about our family's medical history because we're now aware that many diseases & traits get passed down from generation to generation through our DNA. People who are pre-disposed or at increased risk of certain diseases such as cancer or huntington's disease for example carry genetic markers which can help doctors determine if a patient is at increased risk of contracting an illness or disease, so that they can then work together with the patient to either make sure they never actually end up getting it, or if they do, minimize the negative effects and risks associated with it.

The problem historically has been the availability and costs of genomics sequencing, but that's something that's quickly changing.

Drug Research and Development

It's no secret that drug prices are increasing, and at a far faster rate than inflation. Drug research has historically been prohibitively expensive. Drug companies have used the excuse that their research costs and lot of money, and that most drugs never make it to market because they're unsuccessful, so the successful drugs need to make up everything lost on the unsuccessful drug development. Some companies raise drug prices drastically. Turing pharmaceutical increased a drug price 5000% overnight, but they're not the only company to pull a stunt like this; they're just the ones who have garnered the most media attention out of it.

A large portion of the costs associated with drug development is finding the right candidates with the right genetic profile whose DNA can be used for testing purposes. Finding individuals with the right genetic markers is currently a prohibitively expense task. If you're a drug company, how do you go about finding and contacting individuals who have sickle cell anemia for example, so you can ask for DNA samples or DNA data so you develop a drug and test it to ensure it's effectiveness? 

Historically, the companies that have been doing this haven't done a particularly good job because they're restricted by geographic factors, and have a tough time finding the right people with the DNA they need to begin with.

Shivom is aiming to revamp this outdated industry, making it much easier for drug companies to get the DNA they need for drug testing. And they're planning on cutting out the expensive middlemen as well by developing a blockchain-based ecosystem which all the data sits on in a secure, private & encrypted fashion. This way, only the person who owns the data has access to it, just like with cryptocurrencies right now.

Shivom is also enabling people to 'take control of their genomic data' as they call it, afford individuals the opportunity to monetize their own genome should they choose to do so. They can sell their genomic data to drug development companies through Shivom's platform. This is pretty much a win-win for everyone because of:

- Reduced drug development costs, resulting in lower drug costs for consumers

- Individuals owning their own genome, with the right to monetize it should they do so

- Private, security, and not prone to security breaches on a large scale like has happened in the past

- Easier for drug development companies to gain access to the DNA they need, from geographies all around the world

- ability to access DNA in markets that were previously not accessible, in particular, certain third world countries.

Conclusion

In the near future, genomic data is likely to become a lot more widely used. Individuals will know their genetic pre-dispositions to diseases & illnesses in order to be able to combat it efficiently. But they'll also be using their own their genome and will be able to more effectively use it, just as they can utilize and monetize non-genomic healthcare now