In today’s world, where everything from entertainment to education can be customized, the concept of personalized medicines is transforming the healthcare industry. From gene-based therapies to targeted cancer treatments, personalized medicines address illnesses at individual levels. Now, with the advent of compound pharmacies, personalized medicine (also called precision medicine) has become even more accessible, effective, and affordable to patients.

This guide is for those new to personalized medicine and who want to know about this revolutionizing field of medicine.

What exactly is personalized medicine

Personalized medicine is a field in which disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment are tailored to individual patients based on their genetic and genomic information.

In 1990, medical researchers discovered two gene mutations – BRCA1 and BRCA2 – to predict genetic susceptibility to breast cancer. In 1996, BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation screening became the first genetic testing for cancer risk available for clinical use. This was an early innovation in the field of personalized medicine, and it resulted in a decline of 43% in the death rate of breast cancer patients

Today, personalized medicine is practiced across virtually all medical specialities. Now, healthcare teams can provide more targeted drugs and therapies patients’ lifestyle, genetics, diet, disease specifics, and other factors.

The role of compound pharmacies in personalized medicine

Compound pharmacies acknowledge that one size does not fit all. These pharmacies play a crucial role when standard pharmaceuticals or mass-produced medications fall short. 

A licensed compound pharmacist prepares drugs for patients based on their unique medical needs. For example, patients with allergies to preservatives can receive medicines free from these substances. The pharmacist can personalize the medicine for:

Dosage: Standard medicines may come with a pre-determined dosage. Patients, however, may need a higher or lower dosage. Compound pharmacies can provide medicines with potency and dosage based on the patient’s needs.

Form of medicine: Some patients, especially elders and children, may have trouble swallowing tablets. Compound pharmacists can provide medicines in manageable forms, such as gel, liquid, and cream, for the patient’s convenience.

Allergies: Some patients, allergic to certain ingredients in standard medicines, can benefit from formulations without these allergens, which commonly include dyes, preservatives, lactose, and gluten.

Compound pharmacies can even provide combination medications (combining multiple medicines into one), nutraceutical compounds, flavoring of medicines, and even  Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

Progress so far [As of 2024]

In 2003, Francis Collins, then-director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, predicted that in the coming ten years, personalized medicines would enable doctors to employ predictive genetic tests to provide individualized disease prevention.

Collins stated:

“By the year 2020, gene-based designer drugs are likely to be available for conditions like diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, hypertension, and many other disorders. Genetic information will be used to provide appropriate drug therapy to patients, and the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness will be transformed.”

Today, after 20 years, many of Collin’s predictions have come true. Technological breakthroughs have helped uncover opportunities to study proteins, genes, mRNA, and other molecules. 

Personalized medicine: Key growth drivers

With growing interest, research and technological innovations promise unprecedented opportunities in this field of medicine. According to Precedence Research, the size of the global personalized medicine market is projected to surpass around USD 1,233.23 billion by 2033 from USD 578.21 billion in 2023.

Source

Recently introduced single-cell omics revealed a significant heterogeneity of genomics, transcriptomics, and epigenomics. This has a huge influence on disease treatment, particularly in cancer. The emerging technology – liquid biopsy – can detect circulating or cell-free tumor DNA released by tumors in blood, urine, saliva, etc. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is a game-changer as it allows the detection of DNA polymorphisms in both exons and introns to understand disease predisposition and drug response. There is much more to come!

As per our discussion and research so far, the future of personalized, customized or precision medicine seems promising. In the future, physicians may be able to detect diseases at earlier stages and prescribe medicines and therapies at the right time to preempt their progression.

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