The beginning of 21st-century biomedical research was heralded by the completion of the Human Genome Project, which gave a great deal of momentum to new capabilities of science and technology in the hands of medical practitioners and the public. Across the spectrum of clinical neurosciences, many advances are clearly being made

toward understanding the biological underpinning of disease. Applications of new technology platforms in research are widely seen in neurodegenerative disorders, neuropsychiatrie conditions, addiction, and developmental disorders. While the impact Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of translation of these new research frontiers will likely take many years to be measured, pressing implications requiring important policy considerations are visible today. Significant innovation Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and technological achievements lie at the heart of the rapid pace of accrual of scientific information to support personalized medicine. Dramatic decreases in cost and increases in analytical throughput have placed within reach the possibility of sequencing a person’s entire genome for $1000. Broad applications of genomic characterization of disease states in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and diagnostic research sectors have become mainstays of early- and late-stage therapeutic development. Despite the robust

investments in discovery research technologies to exploit genomic variation of disease-related genes, personalized approaches to disease management have

raised challenges for industry because of the potential segmentation effect on diminishing the potential marketable population for new medical products. Nevertheless, there remains strong interest Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical among pharmaceutical and biotechnology developers for clinical strategies to employ diagnostic tests in combination with therapeutic interventions. Whether this “codevelopment” approach will Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical be widely employed by industry to enhance clinical AVL-301 in vitro development strategies, or is engaged in the clinical practice regimen as a personalized medicine tool, is largely unknown. The pathway toward large-scale use of molecular diagnostics in managing therapy decisions has substantial obstacles and misaligned incentives that will require significant policy below modifications before personalized medicine becomes commonplace in health care.1 While today’s view of the horizon for many aspects of clinical practice remains unclear, some disciplines of medicine, such as oncology, are rapidly adopting clinical genomic analysis and individualization of therapies. Some of the more relevant challenges are not the scientific validity of the use of genomic tools, but rather the capability to deploy and organize information in meaningful ways in clinical practice. In addition, it is important to recognize that all of the discovery research and technological advancement is occurring in a highly volatile climate of change in health care policy.