Chairs

Hélène Fournier (Génome Québec, Canada) and Michelle Savoie (University of Montreal, Canada)

Introduction

Pharmacogenomics and precision medicine offer great promise for the treatment of a variety of diseases, from rare diseases to diseases affecting large numbers of people, such as cancer or mental illnesses. The analysis of the genetic make-up of tomorrow’s patients is expected to allow for the prescription of precise treatments that are more efficient and have fewer side effects. This promises important benefits for the health-care system, e.g. savings in treatment costs and time, as well as decrease of side effects and societal costs. Besides, data coming from these analyses could lead to important novel discoveries and ultimately improve diagnoses, prevention, and treatments.

– Implementation of this type of precision medicine in the health-care pipeline faces however several challenges, including, but not limited to:

– Development of advanced bioinformatic tools, such as artificial intelligence algorithms, to analyze multilayered data (including genomic or eHealth data);

– Development of infrastructures for integrating data and/or results in electronic health records;

– Preparing the health-care workforce by promoting precision medicine and genomics literacy of patients, pharmacists and doctors;

– Development of infrastructure and legal/regulatory frameworks for data handling/storage.

This interactive panel will discuss challenges and opportunities of the implementation of pharmacogenomics and precision medicine in the health-care pipeline and the roles of different stakeholders. The panel will also point out potential avenues to foster implementation.

Programme

Learning Objectives