Patents & the progress of personalized medicine: biomarkers research as lens.

Abstract

This article addresses the barriers to personalized medicine, focusing on the burgeoning field of biomarkers research. The author begins by framing intellectual property issues as more than a product of industry incentives and suggests that these issues are deeply entangled with other barriers facing personalized medicine such as regulatory framework deficiencies. The author proposes a set of future research questions to more fully define the barriers to biomarkers research and to uncover which corrective measures may be effective. The author concludes by recommending an integration of regulatory and patent reforms, with a call to action by scholars, scientists, representatives of the biopharmaceutical industry, and policy-makers.