Personalised medicine market in Europe set to grow
Frost & Sullivan report says there are ‘immense opportunities’ for such medicines
Frost & Sullivan projects exponential growth for the European personalised medicine market, stating that current double-digit growth is only the tip of the iceberg.
Defining the scope and nature of human biological variation allows the targeting of medical treatments towards those most likely to benefit from it, the market research company says. Such treatments may include drugs or cell therapies customised to a patient's history, genes and immunology. In essence, the phenomenon of each human being unique creates immense opportunities for personalised medicine.
In its Personalised Medicine in Europe report, Frost & Sullivan expects the current growth to increase as more European governments promote personalised healthcare and thereby move it into the mainstream.
‘The most important benefit of personalised medicine is that it improves the design, power and predictability of a clinical trial, which will then further aid in getting better outcomes in lesser time,’ said Rasika Ramachandran, senior research analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
‘Personalised medicine helps reduce subject recruiting time in clinical trials, improves drug response, and minimises adverse reactions.’
Personalised medicine can also reduce misdiagnoses and enables faster diagnosis when applied as a companion diagnostic test along with a drug, thereby also aiding the development of better differentiated drug products.
Frost & Sullivan says doctors should be encouraged to develop a positive attitude towards theranostics as their technical efficacy, coupled with lower research and development costs, will be key drivers in sustaining growth in the market.
Ramachandran says pharmaceutical companies and diagnostic firms need to collaborate more closely with doctors during the theranostic development process, so that when the test is on the market, their endorsement will aid in its greater adoption.
Public-private partnerships and high levels of technological advancements, which support the discovery and development of new biomarkers, will also spur market prospects.
However, reimbursement remains a key challenge and is preventing doctors from prescribing companion diagnostic tests.
‘Unless reimbursement issues are sorted out or these tests become affordable enough for full out of pocket payment, the companion diagnostic companies face a dead stand off,’ warns Ramachandran.