A challenging drug development process in the era of personalized medicine

Abstract

After years of hesitation a larger number of pharmaceutical and biotech companies are now supporting the idea of a more individualized pharmacotherapy. The companies that are now involved in this research-demanding area will have to face several challenges. The key factor for success will be an in-depth molecular understanding of the pathophysiology and the mechanism of the drug under development. The one-disease-one-drug-one-target paradigm that has been prevailing for decades is history. Most diseases are heterogeneous and based on molecular profiling they can be divided into biological subgroups that each requires a specific pharmacological intervention. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.