Personalised healthcare started off as a great idea some years ago. The promise: With the benefit of modern biology and genetic and diagnostic tools, tailor a medical treatment to targeted groups of patients. Improve effectiveness and outcomes. Reduce side-effects and errors. It made sense then – and it still does now. Certainly, the antique model of one-treatment-fits-all is more than ready for an upgrade.
The reality has been different than the promise. Roll-out has been slower, investment difficult. Regulatory clearance has been fragmented. While there has been progress and hints of the benefits to come, many barriers still stand in the way of deployment.
Why, and what are the barriers? This is the topic of a European research project and series of conferences being organised during 2010 by Science|Business, in collaboration with leading medical university Karolinska Institutet of Stockholm, and a consortium of industrial partners including Novartis, Pfizer, Microsoft and Genzyme. The research project, to be released this spring, analyses expert attitudes towards the technology in four European Union countries. The first of the conferences to discuss the results was held in Brussels on February 4.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Science|Business How to solve the puzzle of personalised healthcare
Author: Nuala Moran
