Breakthroughs in genetic research are rapidly bringing us closer to early diagnosis of mysterious illnesses and will soon improve our ability to target specific drugs towards individual patients. Our current approach of using 'randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled' clinical trials to prove efficacy and safety of new drugs will become obsolete due to genetic advances. No longer will I have to prescribe a drug to a patient because it worked for 60 out of 100 people in a clinical trial. The other 40 will soon have a voice - a genetic language - that we will be able to read.
Welcome to the era of 'personalized medicine'.
When treating a patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I have about ten good drugs to choose from but there is no way to match the right drug with the right patient. So we just shoot in the dark and if it doesn't work we try again. Genetic research holds the promise to change all that and improve our accuracy.