Diagnostics is the key to personalized medicine, a tailored approach to treatment based on the molecular analysis of genes, proteins, and metabolites. Yet although this approach has generated much excitement, few personalized-medicine tests have achieved high levels of clinical adoption. To understand better the challenges to the development and acceptance of personalized medicine—and how to overcome them—we interviewed more than 60 leading experts in this and related fields1 and conducted microeconomic analyses of various stakeholder issues.
We focus here on the US market, but the challenges are also relevant elsewhere. Our proposals for overcoming them could significantly accelerate the adoption of personalized medicine.
Stakeholder incentives and challenges
Our investigation highlighted three main obstacles to the advancement of personalized medicine: scientific challenges (a poor understanding of molecular mechanisms or a lack of molecular markers associated with some diseases, for example), economic challenges (poorly aligned incentives), and operational issues. Although scientific difficulties remain, the economic challenges and operational questions now seem to be the biggest hurdle. Operational issues can often be largely resolved within a particular stakeholder group, but correcting the incentive structure and modifying the relationships between stakeholders could be more complex.
Payers
Investors and analysts have suggested that personalized...