Thomson Reuters Spotlights the Impact of Personalized Medicine on Pharmaceutical R&D

New report details the potential advantages and challenges for the pharma industry as it implements strategies for personalized medicine

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Thomson Reuters

Dec 13, 2012, 11:34 ET

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The IP & Science business of Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today announced the publication of a new report that provides a comprehensive view of the potential effects of personalized medicine on drug research and development. Spotlight on Personalized Medicine, a Pharma Matters report based on insights and information from Thomson Reuters Cortellis for Competitive Intelligence and a selection of data from CMR International, details the current challenges posed by the paradigm of stratified medicine as well as its clinical, economic and societal value.

"An array of scientific and market factors have prompted the pharma industry to question the sustainability of the current R&D model, which targets large populations with chronic unmet medical needs," said Jon Brett-Harris, executive vice president at Thomson Reuters. "Despite the commercial success of these products, the one-size-fits-all focus has resulted in spiraling R&D costs, longer development timelines and narrow product portfolios. New options, specifically personalized medicine, appear to be an attractive and more sustainable solution. This new report offers a detailed look into the possible advantages and disadvantages of this potentially game-changing approach."

The report shows that a stratified paradigm could result in more efficient ways of conducting drug development, as well as address increased public awareness related to post-marketing withdrawals of popular drugs and debates concerning drug pricing and reimbursement. Further, the ability to better assess biological factors related to disease and therapy at the genetic level lends itself to the development of safer, more effective treatments for specific patient subgroups.

The slow pace of the industry to adopt a more stratified approach has been reinvigorated with high-profile drug launches and successes; however, numerous challenges still exist that could affect a large-scale integration of the personalized medicine paradigm into biopharmaceutical R&D. Analysis from Thomson Reuters Cortellis for Competitive Intelligence suggests a gap in connecting the dots between genetic variation, disease association, patient segments with those variations, clinical trial design and patient recruitment in the clinic.

Thomson Reuters Cortellis, the premier life sciences platform, is the most powerful tool of its kind for biopharmaceutical competitive intelligence, drug pipeline, and drug research and development information. CMR International, a Thomson Reuters business, is the world leader in global pharmaceutical R&D performance measurement. To learn more about Cortellis and CMR International, visit: http://ip-science.thomsonreuters.com/.

Click here to view this Spotlight on Personalized Medicine.

Thomson Reuters

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SOURCE Thomson Reuters