Precision medicine offers more targeted treatments, better patient outcomes, and even the potential to transform how we approach disease. But getting there isn’t easy. For many companies, especially smaller ones, the costs of getting started are just too high. From the price of genomic sequencing to the investment needed for specialized tools and training, these upfront costs can feel like a major barrier. In this post, we take a closer look at the real cost challenges facing precision medicine today, and explore how long-term thinking, smarter investments, and clearer regulations could help make precision medicine more accessible to everyone.
High initial costs
While precision medicine approaches offer an unprecedented opportunity for investment, high initial costs often make for a prohibitive landscape when developing new gene and cell therapies.
Additionally, the high initial costs of genomic sequencing, companion diagnostic devices, and personalized drug development make it challenging for smaller entities to design and carry out precision medicine trials. This creates an uneven playing field where only large pharma companies can afford to invest in the technologies and specialist training required, limiting innovation and diversity in the field. Key industry leaders recognize a pressing need to reduce costs and establish a more inclusive system, so that smaller players can contribute effectively and help ensure that pioneering therapies can reach the communities and individuals who are most in need. If the high initial cost involved in developing precision medicine treatments cannot be reduced, there is the danger of new therapies only being available within wealthier regions where organizations and individuals can afford to pay for them out of pocket.
Investing in the long game
Encouraging companies and key stakeholders to invest in the long-term benefits of precision medicine therapies remains a challenge when initial cost and investment in tech, research and development (R&D), and training is so high. However, pointing to examples where governments and policy makers are building out strategic frameworks for the ongoing integration of precision medicine can help to highlight the power and potential of long-term thinking.
For example, China has designed a preemptive standard of care for precision medicine, ready to integrate precision medicine approaches and therapies as they develop. In 2016, the government incorporated precision medicine into its five-year plan (2016-2020), setting aside an estimated $9 billion to be spent on R&D.
This commitment underscores the potential for precision medicine to improve healthcare over time and incentivizes private organizations to strategically invest in new technologies and treatments for which there is already a foundational framework in place. However, convincing companies to invest in precision medicine and patient engagement requires overcoming “analysis paralysis” related to the potential risks and benefits, which often impedes innovation and leads to indecision and missed opportunities within large-scale organizations. Companies must be persuaded that the long-term benefits of investment, collaboration, and informed risk-taking outweigh the potential setbacks and high initial outlay inherent in precision medicine and patient-focused strategy development.
Implementing wearables
There is also a lot of excitement surrounding the potential of wearable technologies to improve patient engagement and enable real-time data collection. However, a lack of efficiency (including challenges with data integration and management), as well as the high upfront costs of implementation, are currently barriers to realizing the full potential of these devices.
Despite the existence of leading wearable manufacturers such as Actigraph, Sotera, and Nvidia, challenges surrounding the designation of wearables as medical devices, a lack of clarity surrounding their regulation and data use, as well as questions around data accuracy and device malfunction are currently limiting their use in clinical trial settings.
Industry leaders recognize the huge potential benefits of these devices, including enhancement of patient engagement, unprecedented access to real-time data, and the ability to respond rapidly to changes in a patient’s health. However, the initial costs of broad implementation coupled with the uncertainties surrounding regulation and data accuracy mean that wearables come at an additional cost which many organizations aren’t currently able to prioritize.
Integrating the use of wearables into regulatory frameworks and data management systems will be vital to realizing the potential of these technologies. A clear framework which provides standards for how wearables should be used in a clinical setting, and how that data is collected, managed and analyzed, will be key to driving down the costs and potential risks of integrating wearables into clinical trials. With a regulatory framework in place there is likely to be increased adoption of wearables in trials, with the potential to increase likelihood of trial success and contribute to improved patient outcomes.
Key takeaway
There’s no doubt that precision medicine can change lives, but only if we make it more accessible. Right now, high initial costs are holding back innovation and leaving smaller companies on the sidelines. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. With better planning, stronger collaboration, and clearer global frameworks, we can start to lower those barriers. It’s about funding the science while also building a system where new ideas can grow, and where the benefits of precision medicine can reach every patient, not just those in well-funded health systems.
To learn more, check out our whitepaper: "Scaling patient engagement strategies in precision medicine trials: Technology, integration, and regulatory development."
