End-to-End Flow

Step 1: Contribution

GenomicDAO Advocates can choose from a list of active DAOs to contribute resources. They will receive GenomicDAO’s tokens from Treasury in return.

Step 2: Select Service Provider and develop GenomicDAO product(s)

After the community starts a precision medicine initiative, GenomicDAO selects a service provider to conduct a clinical study to start R&D for the corresponding genetic test. The selected Service Provider will need to recruit people to participate in the study and then perform a clinical study to develop a genetic test.

Step 3: Commercialization of GenenomicDAO product(s)

The genetic test developed by the Service Provider will then be deployed to the GenomicDAO marketplace. Users in this marketplace are informed about this new genetic test. Some of the users will pay to get this genetic test.

Step 4: Increase the value of GenomicDAO tokens

The revenue is then shared back to the DAO members in the form of a buyback and burn mechanism.

GenomicDAO is not limited to developing a genetic test; nevertheless, this is the first stage of its evolution. The GenomicDAO eventually evolves into the second stage, where it performs clinical drug response studies to recommend the best drug for the user; choosing from the drugs available in the market.

A Practical Example of GenomicDAO in Action

We know that the risk of ischemic stroke in Asians with COVID is nearly triple that for Asians without COVID, a risk that Caucasians don’t face nearly to the same degree. Moreover, the outcomes of post-COVID stroke can be significantly worse for those of Asian background. There may be a genetic explanation for this.

Therefore, there is a dire need to mitigate these issues via preventative strategies that can be tailored to the Asian population in order to save countless lives. As history and statistics have clearly shown above, we shouldn’t hope for centralized pharmaceutical powers to come to the rescue of the Asian population anytime soon.

Ergo, we have to turn to the power of the people to collectively gather and fund the research and solution(s) to this critical issue via the three distinct evolutionary stages of GenomicDAO.

STAGE 1

The first stage of the evolution of the GenomicDAO is where the DAO is able to extract and analyze data from existing genetic studies, as well as to glean insights from new genetic studies sponsored by the DAO, in order to provide user-relevant reports tied to specific markers in each person’s DNA.

In particular, the DAO may wish to sponsor a study to find the genes that raise an Asian individual’s risk of post-COVID stroke. A GWAS can be run against the genetic information contained within the data in order to glean insights on which genetic variations may contribute to this risk.

STAGE 2

In the second stage of the evolution of the GenomicDAO, the DAO will have enough funds and genetic information, as well as willing participants, to conduct a drug-response study. Following along with our prior example, perhaps the drug-response study will find an existing therapeutic agent that will be of value to preventing post-COVID stroke in Asians that have a specific set of genetic variations.

STAGE 3

In the final stage of the evolution of the GenomicDAO, the DAO will have the ability to conduct outright drug discovery in order to find novel agents that may better serve the Asian community. Perhaps a newer, safer, and more effective medication can be found to help treat post-COVID stroke in Asian individuals carrying specific genetic variations.

The Key Points in GenomicDAO Evolution

The key points to keep in mind when thinking about the stages above are as follows. First, every stage creates a product that is of value to users.

• Stage 1 created a genetic test, and subsequent report, which is of value to finding and then elucidating a potential genetic risk factor for post-COVID stroke in Asian individuals.

• Stage 2 found the most effective drugs, among the available drugs, which can help mitigate the risk of post-COVID stroke in Asians within the context of their specific genetic markers.

• Stage 3 allowed the creation of a novel drug that is precisely targeted to treat Asian individuals carrying alleles that raise their risk of post-COVID stroke.

Second, the decision to expand the DAO into one area or another is similar to how a traditional company may decide to expand operations into new fields or geographic regions. However, the DAO does this from the bottom up and in a flexible manner that ebbs and flows with the changing needs of the DAO itself as well as any relevant external factors. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic would’ve likely significantly altered the trajectory of the DAO had it been in existence at the pandemic’s outset.

Finally, the GenomicDAO requires far less funding in order to start any stage of its development as compared to running a traditional drug campaign from basic science to post-marketing surveillance.

That’s because the milestones can be broken into very small chunks, allowing the DAO to quickly decide to proceed, pivot, or discard a venture depending on needs. Whereas a drug discovery campaign can cost a pharmaceutical company hundreds of millions of USD, within the GenomicDAO any group of participating individuals can start such a campaign for as little as $1M, and decide how much further they want to go depending on conditions and results.