The concept of precision medicine is not new. Sometimes referred to as “personalized” medicine, to deliver targeted medicine to treat an individual’s ailment since ancient times.

Physicians have historically tailored their recommendations for medication based on several individual factors, including the patient’s gender, age, pre-existing conditions, preferences, and more.

Thus, instead of taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach to diagnosing and treating an illness, physicians practicing precision medicine consider various factors when deciding the best path for an individual.

Of course, medicine has come a long way in the last several thousand years. Today’s physicians no longer need to rely solely on an individual’s demographics to determine the best course of action.

Instead, they can use an individual’s DNA to determine what treatment methods will work best to combat serious illnesses, including different types of cancer.

Modern physicians have access to genomic data that their ancestors could have only dreamed about. That genomic data is critical for helping them make informed decisions about what treatment plan will be the most effective for an individual.

Precision Medicine and the Human Genome

Researchers have found that 99.9 percent of the human genetic makeup is identical. The remaining .1 percent of genetic variability is what creates different responses to medication among people.

While a person’s unique genetic makeup is critical for developing a precision medicine plan, doctors also take a look at environmental factors (i.e., quality of air and water in your current location and what you were exposed to earlier in life) and lifestyle factors (i.e., diet and exercise choices), to develop an individualized treatment plan for a patient.

There are many opportunities to use precision medicine in a variety of healthcare scenarios, including:

• Precision oncology

• Cancer immunotherapy

• Pharmacogenomics

• Rare diseases

In addition to treating different illnesses, precision medicine can be used to identify which specific diseases an individual is predisposed to develop over their lifetime. Physicians can use this information to formulate preventative plans that keep patients from becoming severely ill over the course of their lifetime.

Where Precision Medicine is Going in 2022 and Beyond

Previously, a few small factories specialized in developing precision medicine. Manufacturing these drugs in small batches was expensive. At the same time, there was not much demand for the products, which meant there was not much reason to expand facilities or find ways to produce medications at higher volumes.

However, with the continued evolution of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and other technologies, developing specialized medications is becoming more feasible and less expensive.

AI and ML-based data platforms can analyze high volumes of data in a fraction of a second, thereby speeding up the process of developing new medications.

At the same time, patients are more informed than ever and are seeking more personalized treatments that address their individual needs. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has led to a new era of empowered patients who demand more than a cookie-cutter approach to healthcare. Precision medicine is the path forward for pharmaceutical companies, physicians, and patients.

Resources:

Ahmed, Z. (2020, October 2). Practicing precision medicine with intelligently integrative clinical and multi-omics Data Analysis – Human Genomics. BioMed Central. Retrieved May 24, 2022, from https://humgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40246-020-00287-z

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, May 17). Precision health: Improving health for each of us and all of Us. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 24, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/about/precision_med.htm

The Future of Precision Medicine. Rutgers University. (2020, October 6). Retrieved May 24, 2022, from https://www.rutgers.edu/news/future-precision-medicine

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2020, February 12). The promise of Precision Medicine. National Institutes of Health. Retrieved May 24, 2022, from https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-turning-discovery-into-health/promise-precision-medicine

Visvikis-Siest, S., Theodoridou, D., Kontoe, M.-S., Kumar, S., & Marschler, M. (1AD, January 1). Milestones in personalized medicine: From the ancient time to nowadays-the provocation of COVID-19. Frontiers. Retrieved May 24, 2022, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2020.569175/full