All for one, not one for all: The promise and challenges of personalized medicine
https://theconversation.com/all-for-one-not-one-for-all-the-promise-and-challenges-of-personalized-medicine-235393
Personalized medicine is a promising treatment for recurrent cancer and superbugs, but it is labour-intensive and expensive, and pathways for its regulatory approval and reimbursement are complicated.
For most of the medicines currently in use, a single drug is prescribed to many people. But sometimes, an individual patient needs a customized drug. Personalized medicine tailors treatments for a specific patient or a handful of patients. It holds great promise for treating certain life-threatening conditions. However, such treatments can be expensive, difficult to develop and labour-intensive.
Today in The Conversation Canada, Lori Burrows and Elizabeth Li of McMaster University write about the promise and challenges of personalized medicine. Treatments like CAR T-cell therapy for relapsed cancers and phage therapy for antibiotic resistant superbugs can save lives, but the high costs that come with such individualized therapies are a major barrier. There are other hurdles, too, including drug approvals and regulations.