July 12, 2013

is the UK ready for stratified (personalised) medicine?

In 2007 a report from the Academy of Medical Sciences identified the benefits of stratified (personalised) medicine, where patients are grouped based on their risk of a disease or how they will respond to a particular therapy. Six years after the publication of their initial report the Academy released a new report, ‘Realising the potential of stratified medicine’, that identifies and proposes solutions to the ongoing barriers to progress in the development of stratified medicine.

Adoption of this approach to medicine is becoming a reality with several stratified medicines already in use in the clinic particularly in the fields of cancer, HIV and cystic fibrosis. However, despite rapid advances in research and technology, progress has been slower than expected and many challenges still remain.

Top experts in the field came to the SMC to talk about: 

• Why aren’t we yet further forward with stratified medicine?
• How long will it be until stratified medicine benefits patients?
• What changes are needed in how we collect and store data on patients?
• How can we change pricing and regulation so that stratified medicines are more quickly adopted?

Speakers: 

Professor Sir John Bell FRS HonFREng FMedSci, Chair of the Academy of Medical Sciences Stratified Medicines Oversight Group & Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford

Professor Andrew Morris FRSE FMedSci, Dean and Professor of Medicine, University of Dundee, and Chief Scientist for Scotland

Professor Adrian Towse, Director, Office of Health Economics