European Nonprofit to Focus on Personalized Medicine and Diagnostics

A nonprofit launched in Europe will focus on promoting and harmonizing personalized medicine and implementing "high value" diagnostics across the continent.

The European Personalized Medicine Diagnostics Association (EPEMED; Nantes, France), a membership association formed in August 2009 as a not-for-profit organization, will provide a platform for harmonization in the development and implementation of value-based diagnostics across Europe, to make personalized medicine a reality. Personalized Medicine refers to the use of a person's clinical, genetic, genomic, and environmental information to select more precisely and accurately treatment for each individual patient. Its aims are to improve care and lower costs.

The central goals of EPEMED are to move personalized medicine forward throughout Europe through targeted education, idea sharing, and business models. The group plans to create joint programs with other international personalized medicine organizations, and to offer opinions on policies related to the field.

EPEMED appointed experts in the field of personalized medicine and molecular diagnostics as its founding board of directors. They include executives from Ipsogen (Marseilles, France), Genzyme Genetics (Cambridge, MA, USA), the Personalized Medicine Coalition (Washington, DC, USA), Theranostics (Rockville, MD, USA), and Novartis Molecular Diagnostics (East Hanover, NJ, USA), as well as from academic and institutional researchers, other businesses, and patient advocacy groups.

"The next few years will see deep changes in medical care due to the development of breakthrough innovations in the field of molecular diagnostics that will help clinicians in better treating their patients," Alain Huriez, founder and chairman of EPEMED, said in a statement. "It is our responsibility to make sure that these innovations will be made available to European patients and as a result, to make Europe an attractive place for innovations, financial and industrial investments in the area of personalized medicine diagnostics."

Related Links:
European Personalised Medicine Diagnostics Association
Ipsogen
Genzyme Genetics
Personalized Medicine Coalition
Theranostics
Novartis Molecular Diagnostics