Personalized medicine: consequences for drug research and therapy

Abstract

In drug research, a serious transformation has taken place. With increasing knowledge gained from molecular medicine, it became possible to refine and develop new therapies based on the molecular mechanisms of diseases. Medicine and drug development have seen a paradigm shift which can be characterized with the catchword “personalized medicine”, also called “stratified medicine” or “precision medicine”. Personalized medicine is based on defined tandems of therapeutic agents and diagnostic tests. With this addition to the regular medical examination of the patient, specific patient characteristics are determined. The results of such diagnostic tests are then decisive for the choice of therapy or control of the effectiveness of the chosen treatment. The benefit of personalized medicine for the patient is the higher probability of treatment success as well as improved effectiveness and reduced / avoided side effects. Health insurance systems and the public may have the advantage that the health funds can be used more efficiently on this basis. This new paradigm requires also a new debate on the remuneration in health care. In order to bring personalized therapies to patients as quickly as possible, all players in health care should work together to address the challenges associated with personalized medicine.