Moving forward from drug-centred to patient-centred research: A white paper initiated by EORTC and developed together with the BioMed Alliance members

Maximising the potential of precision medicine for patients and healthcare services is a major societal challenge. It requires a holistic approach to the development of therapeutic strategies and a re-thinking of the entire process, including the role of the respective stakeholders and the way they interact, from the early steps of drug development to access in real life. First, the new technologies that inform us about the biology of the disease and enable better treatments plead for a reversal of the "protocols search patients" approach, to "patients searching (the best possible) treatments and protocols". Second, new drugs reaching the market is not an end but a start. Information that is critical for the integration of new treatments in daily practice needs to be collected and analysed to optimise the use of resources and maximise patient benefits. Optimal dose, sequence, combination and duration of treatments as well as cut-off values of biomarkers and their clinical utility all represent crucial pieces of information not only for patients and doctors, but also for healthcare systems facing complex decisions on reimbursement and access. The gap that currently exists between market approval and real-life clinical practice, and that is not addressed by the commercial sector, requires a new infrastructure for applied clinical research which needs to be fully integrated into the cycle of drug development, market approval and clinical application. This process needs to be re-...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Editorials Source Type: research