Personalised medicine

Personalised medicine means that prevention and treatment in the healthcare system are to a greater extent adapted to the individual patient's biology and physiology. Information about the genes is central to personalized medicine, and therefore the mapping of the genome is an important part of the development of personalised medicine and is therefore a step to a more targeted treatment.

The analysis of the genome can contribute with increased knowledge about diseases and in some cases it´s possible to say which treatment or medicine is best suited for the individual patient. Conversely, it can also be said which treatment or medication cannot be applied to the patient.

Studies show that some of the medications patients receive do not work as planned. In some cases, the patient has no benefit from the medication and in other cases, the medication even has a direct negative effect with side effects.

Benefits for the patient and society

A significant part of all medicines given today are based on knowledge of the patient's genome. The proportion is likely to increase, and personalised medicine will become an increasingly natural part of the prevention and treatment of disease in the future.

Personalised medicine is thus an advantage for the individual patient, who can get the right treatment faster at the same time as any side effects are reduced. At the same time, the societal benefits are apparent, as improved treatment options affect the national health economy.