• Biosimilars
  • Drug Development/R&D
  • All Topics
OHE OHE
Newsletter SignupSubscribe

News & Insights
  • News
  • Events
  • Insights
  • Bulletin
  • News
  • Events
  • Insights
  • Bulletin

News & Insights

  • News
  • Events
  • Insights
  • Bulletin
Newsletter SignupSubscribe
  • News
  • Events
  • Insights
  • Bulletin

Close
OHE OHE
  • Research & Publications
  • News & Insights
  • Education
  • Innovation Policy Prize
  • Events
  • About Us
  • OHE Experts
  • Contact Us
Newsletter SignupSubscribe

Research & Publications

All Publications

Filter by:
  • Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
  • Biosimilars
  • Cell and Gene Therapies
  • Chronic Diseases
  • Combination Therapies
  • COVID-19 Research
  • Digital Health
  • Drug Development/R&D
  • Emerging Markets
  • EQ-5D and PROMs
  • Health Care Systems
  • Health Data and Statistics
  • Health Technology Assessment
  • Precision Medicine
  • Real World Evidence
  • Use of Medicines
  • Value-Based Pricing
  • Vaccine Research
  • Economics of Innovation
  • Measuring and Valuing Outcomes
  • Policy, Organisation and Incentives in Health Systems
  • Value, Affordability and Decision Making

News & Insights

  • News
  • Events
  • Insights
  • Bulletin

Education

  • Education Hub
  • OHE Graduate School
  • EVIA Programme

Innovation Policy Prize

  • The Prize Fund
  • 2022 Prize Fund

Latest Research & Publications

Proposal for a General Outcome-based Value Attribution Framework for Combination Therapies

CombTher_Adobe_photoguns_portrait
Read more
© photoguns
  • Digital Health

Navigating the Landscape of Digital Health – United Kingdom

Healthcare_Adobe_elenabsl
Read more

2021 OHE Annual Report to the Charity Commission

charityreport_lina-trochez-unsplash_landscape
Read more
© Lina Trochez/Unsplash

Supporting the Era of Green Pharmaceuticals in the UK

Sustainability_AdobeStock_270582392_landscape
Read more

Quality of life and wellbeing in individuals with experience of fertility problems and assisted reproductive techniques

Quality of life assisted reproduction Cover
Read more
  • Cell and Gene Therapies
  • Value, Affordability, and…

Health Technology Assessment of Gene Therapies: Are Our Methods Fit for Purpose?

gene_therapies_national-cancer-institute-unsplash_landscape
Read more
© NCI/Unsplash
  • Drug Development/R&D
  • Economics of Innovation
  • Health Policy and Regulation

Limitations of CBO’s Simulation Model of New Drug Development as a Tool for Policymakers

CBO-US_mayer-tawfik-K4Ckc0AxgDI-unsplash_landscape
Read more
© Mayer Tawfik/Unsplash
  • Measuring and Valuing Outcomes

When Generic Measures Fail to Reflect What Matters to Patients: Three Case Studies

PROMS_unsplash_National Cancer Institute_landscape
Read more
© NCI/Unsplash
Close
OHE
  • All Publications

    Filter by:
    • Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
    • Biosimilars
    • Cell and Gene Therapies
    • Chronic Diseases
    • Combination Therapies
    • COVID-19 Research
    • Digital Health
    • Drug Development/R&D
    • Emerging Markets
    • EQ-5D and PROMs
    • Health Care Systems
    • Health Data and Statistics
    • Health Technology Assessment
    • Precision Medicine
    • Real World Evidence
    • Use of Medicines
    • Value-Based Pricing
    • Vaccine Research
    • Economics of Innovation
    • Measuring and Valuing Outcomes
    • Policy, Organisation and Incentives in Health Systems
    • Value, Affordability and Decision Making
    • News
    • Events
    • Insights
    • Bulletin
    • Education Hub
    • OHE Graduate School
    • EVIA Programme
    • The Prize Fund
    • 2022 Prize Fund
  • Events
  • About Us
  • OHE Experts
  • Contact Us
Newsletter SignupSubscribe
Back
  • News
11 min read 18th December 2013

Personalised Medicine and the Value of Molecular Diagnostics: Case Studies

Progress in personalised medicine is slower than some had expected, partly because of the science and partly because of insufficient economic incentives, particularly for investing in molecular diagnostics. In this open-access publication, OHE’s Adrian Towse and his co-authors examine nine…

Share:
  •  Twitter
  •  LinkedIn
  •  Facebook
  • has-icon Email
Prof Towse on valuing genomic medicines and diagnostics

Progress in personalised medicine is slower than some had expected, partly because of the science and partly because of insufficient economic incentives, particularly for investing in molecular diagnostics. In this open-access publication, OHE’s Adrian Towse and his co-authors examine nine case studies of diagnostics that have been successful in advancing personalised medicine.

Progress in personalised medicine is slower than some had expected, partly because of the science and partly because of insufficient economic incentives, particularly for investing in molecular diagnostics. In this open-access publication, OHE’s Adrian Towse and his co-authors[1] examine nine case studies of diagnostics that have been successful in advancing personalised medicine. “Success” is defined as delivering “one or more of: information of value; targeting of treatment; improvement in health status; cost offset; and the avoidance of adverse reactions”. The examples of molecular diagnostics chosen for review are:

  1. Oncotype Dx® and MammaPrint® to test for the probability of breast cancer recurrence
  2. HER2 testing treatment with trastuzumab in breast cancer
  3. EGFR mutation testing to define options in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (Tarceva® and Iressa®)
  4. KRAS mutation testing to determine treatment choices for colorectal cancer
  5. BCR-ABL to monitor treatment progress in chronic myleloid leukaemia
  6. Testing for the CYP2C19 enzyme in the use of clopidogel (Plavix®) in heart disease
  7. Testing for sensitivity to treatment with abacavir in HIV patients
  8. Testing to monitor viral load in hepatitis C treatment
  9. Risk testing for type 2 diabetes using PreDx®

As the authors point out, this sample of cases illustrates the diversity of approaches in developing molecular diagnostics and the range of challenges posed both by the science and in acceptance and use. The case studies demonstrate progress, but also make clear the negative impact of insufficient emphasis on diagnostics research. Although companies developing drugs may be motivated to invest in tests that contribute to targeted use of their products, few effective incentives are in place to encourage diagnostics firms to conduct substantial independent research. In fact, market failures generally discourage such investment and the authors argue that explicit incentives be created. Moreover, because of the great potential value of personalised medicine for patients and health systems alike, the authors believe that both payers and the public sector should help fund research on the clinical effectiveness of molecular diagnostics.

[1]Open access: Towse, A., Ossa, D., Veenstra, D., Carlson, J. and Garrison, L. (2013) Understanding the economic value of molecular diagnostic tests: Case studies and lessons learned. Journal of Personalized Medicine. 3(4), 288-305. doi: 10.339/jpm3040288.

Professors Towse and Garrison also have recent published an article outlining specific economic incentives necessary to expand research on molecular diagnostics. Click here for our recent blog post about that article.

Prof Towse on valuing genomic medicines and diagnostics

  • Drug Development/R&D
  • Economics of Innovation
  • External Publications

Related News

Prize event
  • News
  • January 2023

Professor Aidan Hollis wins first £40,000 OHE Policy Innovation Prize

Read more
  • News
  • October 2020

Opportunities to Increase Efficiency in Healthcare

Read more
  • News
  • September 2020

Establishing a Reasonable Price for an Orphan Drug

Read more
  • News
  • June 2020

OHE Authors Develop a Supply and Demand Model of Pharmaceutical Markets to Set Cost-Effectiveness Thresholds to Maximise and Distribute Social Welfare

Read more
footer_ohe_logo

Leading intellectual authority on global health economics

Sign Up for the OHE News Bulletin

Newsletter SignupStart Sign Up

Research & Publications

News & Insights

Innovation Policy Prize

Education

Events

About Us

OHE Experts

Contact Us

Sign Up for the OHE News Bulletin

Newsletter SignupStart Sign Up

The Office of Health Economics (OHE) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (registered number 09848965) and its registered office is at 2nd Floor Goldings House, Hay’s Galleria, 2 Hay’s Lane, London, SE1 2HB.

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Cookies Policy

© 2023 Website Design

An error has occurred, please try again later.An error has occurred, please try again later.

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

 Twitter
 Facebook
 LinkedIn
 Copy
 Email
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!