Coalition to Convene Personalized Medicine Conference at Harvard to Address Unresolved Challenges FDA Commissioner Says May Discourage Development of 'Potentially Curative' Treatment Strategies

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC) will convene its 14th Annual Personalized Medicine Conference at Harvard Medical School from November 14 – 15, 2018, to address unresolved challenges in health care that FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., warns may discourage the development of "potentially curative" treatment strategies.

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The conference will examine the landscape and outlook for personalized medicine, an evolving approach to health care that is designed to translate higher up-front costs for tests and treatments into a more effective and efficient health system through targeted health care interventions with unprecedented benefits.

With remarks during last month's Future of Health Summit that exemplify how personalized medicine challenges health systems still accustomed to facilitating access to one-size-fits-all, daily maintenance medications, Gottlieb said he is "extremely worried" that unresolved questions related to reimbursement for "potentially curative" personalized therapies that deliver long-term benefits in just a few doses may discourage the development of similar products.

"I'm extremely worried that if we don't adapt the approach to reimbursement soon, we may foreclose the therapeutic opportunities," Gottlieb said.

The conference will feature a fireside chat with Roche Pharmaceuticals CEO Daniel O'Day moderated by CNBC Reporter Meg Tirrell.

It will also explore issues related to costs, pricing and access during a panel discussion titled "Considering Costs: Evaluating Emerging Pharmaceutical and Insurance Industry Business Models in Personalized Medicine," during which pharmaceutical industry representatives from Amgen and bluebird bio will discuss the future of innovation in health care and payment policies with Michael Sherman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

During the final session of the conference, titled "Impasse or Inflection Point? — An Investment Analysis," a panel of investors including Salveen Richter, C.F.A., a Vice President at Goldman Sachs whose report titled The Genome Revolution prompted headlines about whether "curing patients is a sustainable business model," will join us to draw conclusions about the field's business prospects.

And during the first part of the program, titled "The Infrastructure for Innovation," LabCorp CEO David King, J.D., and Brigham Health President Elizabeth Nabel, M.D., will deliver keynote addresses while panelists will explore scientific developments in the field, assess the potential of artificial intelligence, and discuss outstanding regulatory challenges.

"The 14th Annual Personalized Medicine Conference: Preparing for the New Possible presents an opportunity for the personalized medicine community to consider solutions that can facilitate health care that is tailored to each patient's biological characteristics, circumstances, and values, instead of perpetuating one-size-fits-all approaches that fail to help significant portions of the patient population because we have not paid sufficient attention to scientific discoveries and the development of new technologies," said PMC President Edward Abrahams.
» Download a PDF program book
» Register for the conference

About the Personalized Medicine Coalition:
The Personalized Medicine Coalition, representing innovators, scientists, patients, providers and payers, promotes the understanding and adoption of personalized medicine concepts, services and products to benefit patients and the health system. For more information, please visit www.personalizedmedicinecoalition.org/.

Contact:
Christopher Wells
202.589.1755
[email protected]

SOURCE Personalized Medicine Coalition

Related Links

http://www.personalizedmedicinecoalition.org