Several years ago I tried to persuade a pharmaceutical product manager that coupling his successful drug with a diagnostic assay would boost its efficacy and safety. Although he agreed with my technical arguments, he said there was no possibility of introducing such an assay because doctors would drop the drug - one of many in its class - to the bottom of their priority list if patients first required testing. My suggestion of personalized medicine wasn't flawed from a scientific perspective, but it was destined for obscurity from a business sense because it meant the company would sell fewer drugs.
The lesson for companies involved with personalized medicine is clear: You can have the most compelling arguments in the world for using a particular diagnostic. But without a good commercial case, the project is most likely doomed.
As I learned several years ago, the realities of personalized medicine do not ...
