In the U.S., medical treatment is based on the diagnosis, not the person. It’s a one-size-fits-all approach in which physicians prescribe medications that have been approved to treat the disease state. The approach has improved lives for many but not all. Recently, a new approach to pharmacology is developing, precision medicine, which tailors a treatment to an individual’s biology.
On-label use for medications does not work for everyone. In fact, the efficacy of most medications varies between 20 and 75%. It depends on the drug, disease, and individual patient factors like genetics, age, and overall health. Some common treatments and how their efficacy differs:
- Antidepressants show about a 50-60% efficacy rate for major depression, meaning 40-50% of the medication does not work.
- Statins for lowering cholesterol can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in about 20-30% of patients at high risk.
- Chemotherapy is highly effective for some types of cancer but not others. Response rates vary significantly.
Precision medicine is the next evolution in healthcare, where technological advances can treat and potentially cure disease at the genetic level. Science fiction is becoming science fact.
Pharmacogenomics
Pharmacogenomics matches a patient’s genetic profile with the medications that are most likely to work for them or to cause problems. If physicians know ahead of time that a drug therapy is unlikely to work for their patient due to their genetic profile, then they can skip trial and error style of prescribing. When patients receive the right medication at the right dose from the start, they avoid costly medication switches, lost time, adverse gene-drug interactions, and unnecessary treatments. The result is better health outcomes and lower costs.
The FDA has started to include pharmacogenomic info on drug labels to ensure safer, more precise dosing.
Cancer Immunotherapy
Our immune system is designed to find and destroy abnormal cells, but cancer cells are squirrelly and find ways to slip under the body’s radar. Immunotherapy helps the immune system zero in on cancer cells and wipe them out without attacking healthy cells the way chemotherapy works. Immunotherapy has a way to go, but the results are very promising.
Rare Diseases
Rare diseases have a difficult time getting attention and research dollars because each condition affects a very small number of people. But, if all rare diseases are added up, they effect approximately 30 million Americans. Federal efforts like the National Institute of Health’s Undiagnosed Diseases Program have helped unlock some of the toughest medical puzzles, sometimes uncovering clues that lead to better treatments for more common diseases. Precision medicine, with its focus on individualized treatment based on genetics could be a game-changer for the thousands of rare diseases that currently do not have an approved treatment.
Precision Oncology
Cancer treatment could see a revolution with precision oncology. Instead of classifying cancers by where they appear in the body, like lung or breast cancer, precision oncology is focusing on the molecular makeup of tumors. Just because a cancer is found in a specific location, does not mean that all cancers found in that part of the body are the same, or should be treated the same.
Drilling down into the molecular structure allows physicians to identify specific genetic mutations that drive cancer growth and select treatments based on those details. In a recent study published in Nature Medicine, researchers studying high-risk childhood cancer showed that precision medicine was superior to standard cancer therapy for both clinical response and survival. And, the sooner they started the precision treatment, the better the clinical outcome. From enrollment, patients who received precision treatment before relapse or progression started had a significantly higher response (40% versus 20%; P = 0.04) and OCB rates (74% versus 36%; P = 0.0001).
Biologics to Biosimilars – Getting Started with Precision Medicine
The potential for precision medicine is immense, but we are just at the beginning. As the techniques develop, we will move closer to a world where personalized care is the standard, not the exception. From pharmacogenomics and immunotherapy to tackling rare diseases, precision medicine is transforming healthcare, offering hope for more effective treatments, fewer side effects, and better health for everyone. But, what about the costs?
This is where HealthTech companies like RazorMetrics come in. By helping health plans and employers save money on drug costs, RazorMetrics leverages data to optimize prescription choices. Precision medicine complements this goal by ensuring that the drugs being prescribed are both the most effective and cost-efficient for healthcare providers and employers.
RazorMetrics’ Biosimilar Interchange initiative is a new innovative program designed to help health plans and employers provide cost-effective, FDA-approved alternatives to branded biologic drugs. Our goal is to ensure physicians and patients are well-informed about these viable options, promoting acceptance and understanding that leads to deep savings on expensive brand-name biologics. By connecting the dots between patient outcomes and cost savings, precision medicine and RazorMetrics are both driving smarter healthcare.
