'A Race to the Starting Line': Diagnosing What's Holding Biotechnology Back

As the article states, it is more of an understanding now instead of hit and miss diagnosis based on genetics....both better diagnostic and treatment procedures are in high demand today..with the help of biometrics some of the clinical trials could be eliminated or the time of study reduced...and then enter our current reimbursement system...which doesn't make it easy at all...try to get something experimental covered...although the insurance companies state they are working to make a better medium here...claim denial still exist today for experimental procedures and drugs...comes back to a better infrastructure all the way around that is needed...BD

The overall environment of healthcare's move toward a more individualized approach has begun to help, but more investment in biotechnology would create a more competitive arena and complement the rapid advances in technology, Pollard noted. A burgeoning number of new products is expected to enter the market over the next few years, due in part to important strategic alliances within the industry that have allowed for their development, he added.
As an example of the changing healthcare environment affecting biotech companies, Pollard cited his company's paradoxical achievement last year: It had its fewest number of product approvals in the last 24 years while reaching far greater levels of understanding about the diseases they aim to treat.
"If we understand diseases at the molecular level, then we should be able to do better, and that's really where personalized medicine comes in," Popovits said. "What's exciting right now are all of these targets that are sitting there and all the new technologies" available to help better understand them.