Parallel session 4

1. From Nanomedicine to Nanohealth
Conceptualizing the biomedical model proposed by the
nanotech revolution
Mathieu Noury (PhD candidate)
Université de Montréal
Université de Paris – Ouest
Email : mathieu.noury@umontreal.ca

2. Summary
Nanomedicine and nanohealth. What is the difference?
A transversal medicine
An enhancement medicine
A global medicine
Conclusion

3. Nanomedicine and Nanohealth
‘‘The aim of nanomedicine maybe broadly defined as the
comprehensive monitoring, repair, and improvement of all
human biological systems, working from molecular level using
engineered devices and nanostructures to achieve medical
benefit”
European Science Foundation. (February 2005). ESF Scientific Forward Look on
Nanomedicine, Strasbourg: ESF, p. 2.

4. Roco, M., Mirkin, C., &Hersam, M. (2010). Nanotechnology Research Directions for Societal
Needs in 2020. US: Springer, p. 272.

5. Nanomedicine and Nanohealth
While nanomedicine is a general term referring to the
various medical applications of
nanotechnology, nanohealth is to be seen as a
sociological tool aiming to grasp, at the same time, the
specificity of the biomedical model proposed by the
project of a nanomedicine and its social and cultural
implications.

6. Nanomedicine and Nanohealth
Transversality
Nanohealth
Enhancement Globalization

7. 1. A transversal model
Predictive
medicine
Regenerative Personalized
medicine medicine

8. 1. A transversal model
Predictive Medicine
‘‘In nanodiagnostic, the ultimate goal is to identify disease
at the earliest stage possible, ideally at the level of a
single cell’’
European Technology Platform on Nanomedicine. (September 2005). Vision Paper and Basis for a
Strategic Research Agenda for Nanomedicine. Luxembourg: ETPN & European Commission, p. 6.

9. 1. A transversal model
Personalized Medicine
‘‘Nanotechnology enables further refinement of diagnostic
techniques, leading to high throughput screening (to test one
sample for numerous diseases, or screen large numbers of
samples for one disease) and ultimately point-of-care
diagnostics. These technological advancements pave the way
towards major changes in the way drugs can be prescribed in
future, by enabling the goal of personalized medicine that is
tailored to individual needs’’.
European Technology Platform on Nanomedicine. (September 2005). Vision Paper and Basis for a
Strategic Research Agenda for Nanomedicine. Luxembourg: ETPN & European Commission, p. 15.

10. 1. A transversal model
Regenerative Medicine
‘‘Regenerative Medicine addresses the repair, replacement or
regeneration of damaged tissues or organs via a
combination of technological approaches. They can be
divided into two sub-areas: smart biomaterials and
advanced cell therapy. Ultimately, it is envisaged as being
able to cure specific diseases or repairing damaged tissues,
such as cartilage, bone, teeth, muscle, or nerves’’.
ETPN. (2009). Roadmaps in nanomedicine: towards 2020. Luxembourg: ETPN &EuropeanComission, p. 31.

11. 1. A transversal model
Regenerative Medicine
‘‘The body of the tissue engineering model does not simply
spontaneously heal, but requires an elaborate apparatus
for properly enframing the regenerative potential of
cells and tissues’’.
Thacker, E. (2005). The Global Genome. Biotechnology, Politics, and Culture. Cambridge: MIT
Press, p. 261.

12. 2. An enhancement medicine
‘‘contemporary medical technologies do not seek
merely to cure diseases once they have manifested
themselves, but to control the vital processes of the
body and mind. They are […] technologies of
optimization’’.
Rose, N. (2007) The Politics of Life Itself. Biomedicine, Power, and Subjectivity in the
Twenty-First Century, Princeton: Princeton University Press, p. 16.

13. 2. An enhancement medicine
“regenerative medicine and nanomedicine have the potential
to improve the health of Canadians and change the way
our health care system protects, maintains and restores
health”.
“[Nanomedicine] focuses on strategies that promote health
and prevent disease. Its ultimate goal is to develop innovative
and socially validated treatment approaches that will improve
the quality of life of individuals and populations”.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research. (2006). Regenerative medicine &
Nanomedicine: Investing today in the promise of tomorrow, Ottawa: CIHR, p. 6-7.

14. 2. An enhancement medicine
‘‘The medicalization and disease-mongering phenomenon
increases and moves toward the transhumanization of
medicalization, where enhancing, improving and
modifying the human body beyond its species-typical
boundaries is part of the concept of being healthy’’.
Wolbring, G. (2005). The triangle of enhancement medicine, disabled people, and the concept of health :
a new challenge for HTA, health research, and health policy. Edmonton: Alberta Heritage
Foundation for Medical Research, p. 3.

15. 3. A global medicine
Major governmental investments in
nanotechnology (including nanomedicine)

16. 3. A global medicine
Nanomedicine indicates the centrality of what many
people has starting to call an “economic-industrial-
technological-scientific-complex” of
technoscience, which has replaced the declining
“military-industrial complex.”

17. 3. A global medicine
“The OECD Project supposes the bioeconomy to be the aggregate set of
economic operations in a societythat use the latent value incumbent in
biological products and processes to capture new growth and welfare
benefits for citizens and nations. […] The bioeconomy is made possible
by the recent and continuing surge in the scientific knowledge and
technical competences that can be directed to harness biological
processes for practical applications.
[…] Unsurprisingly therefore, strategic interest is growing in the
biosciences in both OECD and non-OECD countries. Indeed, the
bioeconomy is growing faster in China, India and Singapore than in many
OECD countries and the lead position occupied by OECD countries in most
fields is being challenge”.
OECD. (2006). The Bioeconomy to 2030: Designing a Policy Agenda. Paris: OECD, p. 1-2

18. 3. A global medicine
R.: Canada has an opportunity to take a leader role in regenerative
medicine. If we don’t do it, someone else will. If someone else does it, we
will still pay for it and we won’t take as much of the economic benefits. So
you cannot stop it. No one cares of Canada, no ones worldwide cares of
Canada funds it or not. At the end, everyone would want its benefit. So if
we have an opportunity to become a significant player, and something has
going to happen anyways, we should take it.
M.: Do you think there is a worldwide pressure to develop this…
R.: …it’s not so much a pressure, it’s a race.

19. Conclusion