The Promise of Personalized Medicine
The team at Amplion is dedicated to seeing the promise of personalized medicine fully realized. And although we all come from diverse backgrounds, we’re fired up and fully invested in contributing to that promise becoming a reality.
We’re well aware that personalized medicine is a controversial subject that has it’s share of vehement nay-sayers. For those who contend that personalized medicine is not achievable, I challenge you to review the unprecedented rate of technological change, innovation and progress that’s been achieved over the last century and a half.
In other words, never bet on never.
There are a couple of key reasons we are so bullish on personalized medicine and why we’re fully invested in seeing it realized.
The first reason we’re so bullish on personalized medicine is that the state of medicine ― while better than ever ― still leaves a great deal to be desired. In our world of continual innovation and change, the shotgun approach to serious, chronic illness is expensive and painful.
The second reason we’re so fired up about personalized medicine has everything to do with being human in the twenty first century where we now expect ― and for the most part can ― personalize and control almost every aspect of our lives.
From programming our personal environment ‘just so’ using our Nest thermostats, to television-on-demand through Netflix to tracking our exercise with our Fitbits, we have growing expectations about tailoring every experience to our individual wants and needs.
Except for the crucial area of our health ― and the health of the people we love most ― we are sidelined as passive receivers of what too often feels like generalized care.
Personalization of our healthcare ― equipped by technology ― cannot and should not be kept out of the continual innovation and change that improves so many areas of our lives for long.
So, how does Amplion and BiomarkerBase™ contribute to realizing the promise of personalized medicine?
Well, we agree with many scientists and practitioners that diagnostic assays are key to personalized medicine. It’s the reason we’ve prioritized test coverage for BiomarkerBase™ from the beginning ― and it’s why we’ve got the first biomarker database to include Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs).
And even though the best and the brightest are pursuing the science of effective diagnostic tests, it’s just as critical that we get the corresponding policy right that allows the healthcare community to continue the innovations that will move us closer to delivering the promise of personalized medicine.
The goal of this post is to state our stance on diagnostic test regulation and how that stance gives us the best shot at realizing the dream of personalized medicine. And in my next post, I’m going to cover why we believe that 510(k)-style regulation of LDTs should not be pursued.