The market for personalized medicine in the US is already $232 billion, and it is projected to grow 11% annually, according to a new report published today by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, entitled [removed]The Science of Personalized Medicine: Translating the Promise into Practice[/removed].

Personalized medicine, which targets individualized treatment and care based on personal and genetic variation, is creating a booming market, but it is a disruptive innovation that PricewaterhouseCoopers says will create both opportunities and challenges for traditional healthcare and emerging market participants.

PricewaterhouseCoopers projects that the market for a more personalized approach to health and wellness will grow to as much as $452 billion by 2015. Its estimates are based on a broad view of the market opportunity beyond drugs and devices to also include demand for high-tech storage and data-sharing as well as low-tech products and services aimed at consumers’ heightened awareness of their own health risks.

According to the report:

  • The core diagnostic and therapeutic segment of the market—comprised primarily of pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies – is estimated at $24 billion and is expected to grow by 10% annually, reaching $42 billion by 2015.
  • The personalized medical care portion of the market – including telemedicine, health information technology and disease management services offered by traditional health and technology companies – is estimated at $4 billion to $12 billion and could grow tenfold to over $100 billion by 2015 if telemedicine takes off.
  • The related nutrition and wellness market – including retail, complementary and alternative medicine offered by consumer products, food and beverage, leisure and retail companies – is estimated at $196 billion and is projected to grow 7% annually to over $290 billion by 2015.

The promise of personalized medicine has been predicated upon advances in genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, completion of the human genome map and development of "targeted" diagnostics and therapeutics. Genomic testing enables physicians to identify an individual’s susceptibility to disease, predict how a given patient will respond to a particular drug, eliminate unnecessary treatments, reduce the incidence of adverse reactions to drugs, increase the efficacy of treatments and, ultimately, improve health outcomes.

"Medical science and technological advancement have converged with the growing emphasis on health, wellness and prevention sweeping the country to push personalized medicine to a tipping point," said David M. Levy, MD, global healthcare leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers. "We are now seeing a blurring of the lines between traditional healthcare offerings and consumer-oriented wellness products and services. The market potential is enormous for any company that learns to leverage the science, target individuals and develop products and services that promote health."

Source: PriceWaterhouseCoopers