NEW YORK, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The market for personalized medicine in the United States is already $232 billion, and it is projected to grow 11 percent annually, according to a new report published today by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, entitled The Science of Personalized Medicine: Translating the Promise into Practice. Personalized medicine, which targets individualized treatment and care based on personal and genetic variation, is creating a booming market, but it is a disruptive innovation that PricewaterhouseCoopers says will create both opportunities and challenges for traditional healthcare and emerging market participants.
PricewaterhouseCoopers projects that the market for a more personalized approach to health and wellness will grow to as much as $452 billion by 2015. Its estimates are based on a broad view of the market opportunity beyond drugs and devices to also include demand for high-tech storage and data-sharing as well as low-tech products and services aimed at consumers' heightened awareness of their own health risks.
According to the report:
The promise of personalized medicine has been predicated upon advances in genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, completion of the human genome map and development of "targeted" diagnostics and therapeutics. Genomic testing enables physicians to identify an individual's susceptibility to disease, predict how a given patient will respond to a particular drug, eliminate unnecessary treatments, reduce the incidence of adverse reactions to drugs, increase the efficacy of treatments and, ultimately, improve health outcomes.
"Medical science and technological advancement have converged with the growing emphasis on health, wellness and prevention sweeping the country to push personalized medicine to a tipping point," said David M. Levy, MD, global healthcare leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers. "We are now seeing a blurring of the lines between traditional healthcare offerings and consumer-oriented wellness products and services. The market potential is enormous for any company that learns to leverage the science, target individuals and develop products and services that promote health."
New Market Participants
Consumer demand for personalized care is creating new opportunities for market participants, for example:
Challenges for traditional healthcare
The growth of personalized medicine will change the role of traditional healthcare organizations and create new challenges. Most notably, it is one of the market forces driving the changing business model of Big Pharma away from the blockbuster drug model to a more collaborative model focused on outcomes and specialized therapies.
Primary care providers may have to build new service lines around prevention and wellness in order to replace revenues lost from traditional medical procedures. When they do, they can expect to face low-cost competition from non-healthcare companies skilled in consumer marketing and consumers armed with knowledge of their options. In addition, physicians will need training in genomics and proteomics in order to stay relevant in the area of personalized medicine. To educate the next generation of physicians and nurses in the complex issues raised by genomic and proteomic science, universities will have to update their programs.
How payers approach personalized medicine will be critical, as their reimbursement schemes will influence the business models of pharma and diagnostics companies as well as providers who depend on third-party payment. Payers that want to embrace the new science will have to rethink how they define coverage. Insurance premiums today are based on actuarial statistics that apply to large, predictable populations. By contrast, personalized medicine targets small populations which are far less stable and predictable from an actuarial standpoint.
"There is an urgent need to increase the value of healthcare, but we can't get there by fixing the healthcare of yesterday. We need to replace our current focus on treating disease with a better approach that is personalized, preventive, predictive and participatory, the basic tenants of personalized medicine," said Gerald McDougall, principal in charge of personalized medicine and health sciences, PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Greater collaboration around personalized medicine should be a key strategy for health reform."
The Science of Personalized Medicine: Translating the Promise into Practice, can be downloaded at www.pwc.com/personalizedmedicine.
About PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Industries Group
PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Industries Group (www.pwc.com/healthindustries) is a leading advisor to public and private organizations across the health industry, including payers, providers, academic institutions, health sciences, biotech/medical devices, pharmaceutical companies, employers and new non-traditional market participants in the dynamic healthcare space. PricewaterhouseCoopers has a network of more than 4,000 professionals worldwide and 1,200 professionals in the U.S. dedicated to the health industries. PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Industries' clients include 40 of the top 100 hospitals in the U.S. and 16 of the 18 best hospitals as ranked by US News & World Report; all 20 of the world's major pharmaceutical companies; all of the top 20 commercial payers in the U.S.; municipal, state and federal government agencies and many of the world's preeminent medical foundations and associations.
About PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwc.com) provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for our clients and their stakeholders. More than 163,000 people in 151 countries across our network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice.
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SOURCE PricewaterhouseCoopers