The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) applauded President Barack Obama’s launch of the Precision Medicine Initiative during his State of the Union address on Jan. 20.
The purpose of the Precision Medicine Initiative is to make customized medical therapies for patients in order to reduce the risk of side effects while maximizing clinical benefits. It could conceivably lead to more and better treatments for cancer and other disease.
"Precision medicine holds great promise for many health care interventions to occur much earlier and with increased accuracy," BIO CEO Jim Greenwood said.
The initiative calls for the creation of a national voluntary research cohort, in addition to public-private partnerships.
"We are pleased that the Precision Medicine initiative and the Chronic Disease Initiative longitudinal study proposed by BIO hold promise of working very well together," Greenwood said. "We look forward to working with the (Obama) administration and the National Institutes of Health – in addition to the Congress; to develop public policies that will support the implementation of precision medicine."
Obama will ask for $215 million as part of the 2016 budget request to cover the launch of the initiative.
"Together, we are embarking on a new era that will transform health care through the use of next generation modern medicines and diagnostics that promise to save lives and reduce and eliminate suffering," Greenwood said.
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