Would your teenaged son buy the same clothes as his grandmother? Probably not. But when they get sick, they’re likely receive just about the same treatment and drug choices. And so will everyone else. That’s because even the world’s best scientists and doctors have limited knowledge of how different people respond to different treatments. The result is a “one size fits all” approach to medicine.
That’s changing. Personalized medicine is moving us closer to more precise, predictable and powerful medicine—customized for the individual patient. Our growing understanding of genetics is allowing us to provide better diagnoses, safer prescribing, and more effective treatment of the diseases and conditions that have affected us throughout history.