[Personalised medicine. Paradigm shift within drug research and therapy]

In the middle of the 1980s and 1990s, drug research underwent a significant change. With new knowledge gained from molecular medicine, it became possible to understand the development and course of many diseases in much more detail. As a consequence, truly new therapies were developed on the basis of natural sciences.

Progress in medicine is not only based on newly available therapeutic options but also implies the identification of the therapy which suits the patient best. And it is exactly here where medicine as well as drug development are currently undergoing a paradigm shift which can be characterised by the catchword "personalised medicine".

Personalised medicine encompasses defined tandems of therapeutic and diagnostic agents and leads to a therapy which is based on single patient groups rather than solely on disease diagnoses. In this therapy concept--in addition to the regular examination of the patient--a diagnostic test is performed to assess certain patient characteristics as a basis for the choice of therapy and/or therapy control. Primarily, it is the patient who benefits from personalised medicine by a higher probability of therapeutic success or by an increased tolerance. Thereby, personalised medicine may also increase cost efficiency in the health care sector.

To introduce more personalised therapies and therefore achieve the best possible patient care as well as increased cost efficiency for the health care system in the future, all players in health care should work closely together to meet the challenges of personalised medicine.