NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – GenomeWeb readers in 2014 were most interested in a story about a large study investigating why some people remain healthy while others get sick.
The top article was about healthcare entrepreneur Leroy Hood's efforts to advance a "wellness industry" by studying the factors that contribute to people staying healthy. In the study, researchers hope to enroll 100,000 patients in good health, collect data on them over two decades via genomic and other complex tests, assess their nutrition, analyze their microbiome, and perform organ-specific checkups. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the myriad factors contributing to the development of diseases, and develop tools and strategies to predict who will become sick so doctors can intervene early.
Other stories that captured readers' interest included those about how pharmaceutical companies are implementing genomic technologies and strategies in drug development. For example, Amgen and Pfizer's efforts to explore novel diagnostic methods for identifying best responders to their cancer drugs was well read, so was an M&A story about Novartis' decision to acquire GlaxoSmithKline's oncology portfolio.
Articles exploring the barriers to personalized medicine adoption, particularly reimbursement and regulatory hurdles, continued to be of interest in 2014. This is not a surprise since last year was distinguished by several significant policy actions, with the FDA releasing draft guidance on oversight of lab-developed tests and the passage of a new law that would shift payment of tests to a market-based system by 2017.
Meanwhile, stories about the growing scientific challenge of classifying variants of unknown significance received attention in 2014. And a piece about two large personalized cancer drug trials that failed to meet their endpoints, got researchers talking about the need for new study models in personalized medicine. As industry players continue to work out these difficulties for the field, their successes and failures will inspire more stories in 2015.
In order, these were the top 10 personalized medicine stories on GenomeWeb in 2014:
1. Hood Lays out 100K-Patient Longitudinal Research Agenda to Spur Wellness Industry in Next Decade
2. Amgen Becomes Early MiSeqDx Adopter for Vectibix CDx; Illumina Plans for Shared 'Onco Panels'
3. Q&A: FDA's Alberto Gutierrez, Elizabeth Mansfield Discuss Personalized Medicine Efforts in 2013
4. Two Large Negative Trials in Molecularly Defined Cancers Leave Clinicians Asking What's Next?
5. In Tackling the VUS Challenge, Are Public Databases the Solution or a Liability for Labs?
6. LabCorp Looks to Advance New Personalized Medicine Tests, Decision Support Platform in 2014
7. Market-based Reimbursement Provisions for Lab Tests in HR 4302 Passes Senate with Industry Backing
8. Pfizer, Samsung Research Group Details Second Gene Fusion Assay on Nanostring Platform
9. Pharma Slowly Adapting to Complexities and Challenges of Developing Personalized Medicine
10. Deal with GSK brings New Personalized Rx Opportunities to Novartis