Personalised medicine and AI inquiry launched

An inquiry into how artificial intelligence (AI) and genomics could support personalised medicine has been launched by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee.

Recent advancements in genomics, biotechnology and AI have allowed new therapies to emerge – such as CAR T-cell therapy which modifies a person’s immune system cells to fight cancer.

Yet translating this ‘cutting edge’ research into routine patient care in the NHS remains the challenge, the committee said.

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The inquiry will use personalised medicine and AI as examples to consider why the NHS often fails to adopt the UK’s life sciences innovations, and what could be done to fix this.

Lord Mair CBE, chair of the committee, said: ‘We will examine the gap between early-stage research, clinical trials and NHS-wide delivery, looking at blockages in the system slowing progress, including procurement processes, clinical pathways, and the role of regulators and professional bodies.

‘We will also examine how the fragmentation of the overall NHS structure contributes to the uneven deployment of innovation, how the costs of personalised treatments can be reduced, and the clinical academics and clinical trials infrastructure needed to rapidly deploy innovations within the NHS.’

The inquiry announcement said it would explore several issues:

• The current state of the science underpinning personalised medicine, the major gaps and existing possibilities, including the role of AI in personalised medicine.
• What research infrastructure is needed to support the development of personalised medicine and AI in the UK.
• How effective the UK is in translating its life sciences strengths into validated personalised medicine and AI tools and what can be done to remain competitive in this field.
• How proven innovations might be deployed across the NHS, and what key barriers prevent or delay this.
• If regulatory frameworks are appropriate and proportionate.
• Whether current appraisal and commissioning models are appropriate for personalised medicine.
• What the Government needs to do to strengthen feedback loops between medical research, the life sciences industry and the NHS.

The inquiry comes as the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA) launches its Handbook of Pharmacogenomics – a free resource for healthcare professionals to support the use of pharmacogenetic results in medicines optimisation.

Pharmacogenomics is the study of how an individual's genetic makeup influences their response to medication.

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The information provided in the UKCPA pharmacogenomics handbook comes from a range of sources and from the clinical experience of pharmacists and healthcare professionals with expertise in pharmacogenomics.

Its development was led by the consultant pharmacist genomic medicine lead for NHS South East Genomic Medicines Service, Lucy Galloway, and the consultant pharmacist genomic medicine lead for NHS Central and South Genomic Medicine Service, Dr Hayley Wickens.

At the launch event, Ms Galloway said: ‘The UK is at a tipping point for introducing pharmacogenetic testing into routine clinical practice.

‘We felt that many of the existing resources are not user friendly for a non-expert audience and also some international resources do not always align with UK clinical practice or include UK specific guidelines and UK product licenses.’

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Professor Bill Newman, professor of translational genomics at the University of Manchester, stressed that pharmacists are ‘taking the lead on making pharmacogenomics a clinical reality’.

‘[They] are the people with expertise in prescribing and making sure that our patients get the right drugs, at the right time, at the right dose. To do that, [they] need information available to [them], which is easy to follow, easy to access, and that is consistent with international guidance,’ he added.