BioWorld. Link to homepage.

Clarivate
  • BioWorld
  • BioWorld MedTech
  • BioWorld Asia
  • BioWorld Science
  • Data Snapshots
    • BioWorld
    • BioWorld MedTech
  • Special reports
    • Aging
    • Biosimilars
    • Artificial intelligence
    • Coronavirus
    • IVDs on the rise
    • Radiopharmaceuticals
    • Science '22 in Review
    • Top Biopharma Trends of 2022
    • Top Med-tech Trends of 2022
    • Premium reports
      • BioWorld Financings Reports
      • Disease Incidence & Prevalence Summaries

BioWorld. Link to homepage.

  • sign in
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Subscribe
BioWorld - Monday, September 25, 2023
Home » Blogs » BioWorld MedTech Perspectives » Precision Skepticism

BioWorld MedTech Perspectives
BioWorld MedTech Perspectives RSS FeedRSS

BioWorld MedTech

Precision Skepticism

March 30, 2015
By Mark McCarty
No Comments

Eppur si muove, indeed, but to what effect?
Eppur si muove, indeed, but to what effect?

From time to time, it's nice to rediscover I'm not the only cynic in the room. So I was obviously relieved to see a couple of criticisms of the latest orthodoxy about the future practice of medicine. The question is: Is the Precision Medicine Initiative the real deal or just another government gamble on the ponies?

Goldilocks syndrome

Rita Rubin writes in the March 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that the hyperbole surrounding the President's Precision Medicine Initiative (or PMI) has raised a few eyebrows, albeit for different reasons. Rubin cites Jeffrey Matthews, chair of the department of surgery at the University of Chicago, as arguing that the title of the program exceeds the program's likely reach.

Matthews is said to have stated that precision medicine sounds great on paper, but "it is being oversold and overhyped, and it's creating unrealistic expectations on the part of patients and clinicians." Of course PMI is far from alone in this, as the much-ballyhooed Critical Path Initiative and the parallel review program run by FDA and CMS make clear.

Big data maven Eric Topol of the Scripps Translational Science Institute is credited with a skepticism of a different brand. Rubin quotes Topol as saying, "the science is catapulting forward" toward precision medicine, but that genetic sequencing fills in only one layer of the picture.

"If you really want to change medicine, you have to have all the information on the individual," Topol stated, making the argument that even information on the bacterial environment in the gut is necessary to leverage this new medical paradigm. Topol may be right, but one has to ask whether it's even remotely plausible to economically come up with that much information.

Not to take a shot at Topol, but sooner or later, someone will ask whether the relationship between the individual and his or her parents is essential to a true personalized/precision medicine paradigm. That's how we'll know for certain that all this emphasis on precision has gone too far.

The past as epilogue

Another point of consideration is that the PMI calls for the collection of data on a million Americans and the use of smart phones and so on to evaluate the interaction between genes and other factors, such as environmental factors.

We might note that government finally (and mercifully) pulled the plug on the National Children's Study and that bisphenol A has been pretty much exonerated from any culpability where human disease is concerned. The National Children's Study suffered from no shortage of ambition or of bogeymen, and we might ask ourselves if the Precision Medicine Initiative, relying as it will on electronic health record interoperability, is likely to meet the same fate, especially given that lifestyle is still a big – maybe the biggest – factor in declining health.

Time will tell, but I'd point out that betting against government's blind ambitions does not routinely result in a bad day at the horse track.

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Popular Stories

  • Today's news in brief

    BioWorld
    BioWorld briefs for Sept. 25, 2023.
  • Today's news in brief

    BioWorld MedTech
    BioWorld MedTech briefs for September 22, 2023.
  • Hands holding torn contract

    Quite a fix: Orthofix sacks three top execs

    BioWorld MedTech
    Orthofix Medical Inc. terminated its CEO, chief financial officer and chief legal officer in a move that plunged the stock from $18.63 at Monday’s close to $13.01...
  • Illustration of Alzheimer’s in the brain.

    Study identifies cause of death for Alzheimer’s neurons

    BioWorld
    By creating a new mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease that better recapitulated how the disease plays out in humans, investigators at KU Leuven have gained new...
  • 3D illustration of cancer in crosshairs

    Dato data lack means upside for Gilead; Padcev 'must-win' does win

    BioWorld
    Upbeat phase III findings outweighed less encouraging late-stage trial news, as big pharma provided a mixed bag of cancer findings – with one data batch to form...
BioFuture ad

BioWorld Premium

Enjoy extended coverage for the most complete market view with BioWorld, BioWorld MedTech, and BioWorld Asia in a single, easy to access subscription.

Subscribe
  • BioWorld
    • Today's news
    • Analysis and data insight
    • Clinical
    • Data Snapshots
    • Deals and M&A
    • Financings
    • Newco news
    • Opinion
    • Regulatory
    • Science
  • BioWorld MedTech
    • Today's news
    • Clinical
    • Data Snapshots
    • Deals and M&A
    • Financings
    • Newco news
    • Opinion
    • Regulatory
    • Science
  • BioWorld Asia
    • Today's news
    • Analysis and data insight
    • Australia
    • China
    • Clinical
    • Deals and M&A
    • Financings
    • Newco news
    • Regulatory
    • Science
  • BioWorld Science
    • Today's news
    • Biomarkers
    • Cancer
    • Conferences
    • Endocrine/Metabolic
    • Immune
    • Infection
    • Neurology/Psychiatric
    • Patents
  • More
    • About
    • Advertise with BioWorld
    • Archives
    • Article reprints and permissions
    • Contact us
    • Cookie policy
    • Copyright notice
    • Data methodology
    • Podcasts
    • Privacy policy
    • Share your news with BioWorld
    • Staff
    • Terms of use
Follow Us

Copyright ©2023. All Rights Reserved. Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing