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Topical Discussion & Annual Planning Luncheon
The July '05 BIO IT Coalition planning meeting got underway after self-introductions of the attendees. Chairman Steve Mandell asked the audience to share what topics they would like to highlight at the next Annual Conference on April 26, 2006, tentatively entitled "Using Advanced Information Technologies to Develop Personalized Medicine/Healthcare." Ideas flowed by way of an intriguing dialogue about the huge changes taking place in the industry; in science, clinical applications, IT and medical records, and in the legal regulatory arenas.
Some of the topics suggested by the audience for inclusion were:
- How are the pharmaceutical companies gearing up for changes from the blockbuster mentality? Will they recycle old research which has already proven itself acceptable for subsets of the population and which they have on the shelf? Will they develop other uses for drugs already in circulation?
- New and emerging technologies in BIO IT.
- The importance of predictability and the development and use of IT tools to predict the efficacy of therapies.
- The diseases most likely to be addressed first were suggested to be metabolic syndromes, such obesity and diabetes. Will this be true?
- Niche markets and globalized medicine; a need for a common language from lab bench to marketplace and locale to locale.
- The increasingly important role of the pharmacist as a disseminator of information and guidance where knowledge of side effects about toxic combinations is essential, i.e. pharmacovigilance.
- What new business models are needed to accommodate the development and institution of "Personalized Medicine."
- A mix of money and time would most likely bring about radical improvements at the convergence of life sciences and IT. How is the current political climate and the lack of business expertise may holding this back.
- The increased reliance on electronic medical records for the implementation of "Personalized Medicine" and need to keep these secure and private. The ethical issues involved in doing this.
- The need for modifications in the way FDA approves drugs and biologicals in order to accommodate the development and institution of "Personalized Medicine."
- How can consistency be maintained when individualized medicines are required? How will the FDA deal with this?
- The need for modifications in the insurance industry practices to accommodate "Personalized Medicine."
- Will the development and application of "Personalized Medicine" increase or decrease the cost of healthcare?
- The need for clinical studies of "Combinatorial Therapies." How the use of ad hoc investigational studies in clinical environments and in research institutions such as NCI provide physicians with information about adverse effects when a patient is treated with multiple drugs. Also how in silico testing may help in dealing with this issue.
- The use of nutriceuticals is expected to advance health.
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