A survey of experts on personalized medicine landscape in European Union and China

Abstract

Introduction Personalized Medicine (PM) is one of the main priorities of the research agenda of the European Commission and the focus of the European Coordination and Support Action titled “Integrating China into the International Consortium for Personalized Medicine” (IC2PerMed). Similar to the European focus, PM is a current priority of the Chinese Government, through dedicated policies and its five-year investment plans. In the context of IC2PerMed, we implemented a survey to understand the state of the art of the implementation of PM related policies in EU and China, and to identify opportunities for future Sino-European collaborations. Methods The survey was elaborated by the IC2PerMed consortium and validated by a focus group of experts. The final version, in English and Chinese, was administered online to a pool of accurately selected experts. Participation was anonymous and voluntary. The survey consists of 19 questions in 3 sections: (1) personal information; (2) policy in PM; (3) facilitating and hindering factors for Sino-European collaboration in PM. Results Forty-seven experts completed the survey, 27 from Europe and 20 from China. Only four participants were aware of the implementation of PM-related policies in their working country. Expert reported that PM areas with greatest policy impact so far were: Big Data and digital solutions; citizen and patient literacy; and translational research. The main obstacles found were the lack of shared investment strategies and the limited application of scientific developments in clinical practice. Aligning European and Chinese efforts, finding common ground across cultural, social, and language barriers, were considered as actions needed to enhance efforts in applying PM strategies internationally. Conclusion To achieve efficiency and sustainability of health systems, it remains crucial to transform PM into an opportunity for all citizens and patients with the commitment of all the stakeholders involved. The results obtained aim to help define common research and development approaches, standards and priorities and increase collaboration at international level, as well as provide key solutions to enable convergence towards a common PM research, innovation, development and implementation approach between Europe and China.

Integrating China in the International Consortium for Personalized Medicine: A Position Paper on Personalized Medicine in Sustainable Healthcare

“…These initiatives have fostered a broad response from academic institutions and private companies, with the aim of enhancing technical capabilities to acquire and process data in this area [63]. However, the adoption of and compliance toward precision testing and medicine is still limited [28]. This is closely linked to the high cost and insufficient copayment of PM technology.…”

“…The workshop dedicated to PM in sustainable healthcare was held on June 22, 2021, and was participated by 16 experts (10 from the EU and 6 from China). In preparation for the workshop, a list of guiding issues has been reported to foster the discussion, based on a mapping exercise of European and Chinese policies in PM [10,22,[26][27][28].…”

Integrating China in the International Consortium for Personalised Medicine: a position paper on innovation and digitalization in Personalized Medicine

“…The choice of subjects addressed in the workshops is derived from an examination of the primary priorities outlined in the 'ICPerMed Vision for 2030,' in conjunction with the most significant findings from a comprehensive mapping exercise pertaining to PM policies and initiatives in both Europe and China. The extensive details of the mapping outcomes can be found in the project public deliverables, which are accessible on the IC2PerMed website, and related scientific papers [ 1 , 3 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]. This manuscript presets the outcomes of one specific workshop, which delved into the essential guiding inquiries pertaining to the utilization of Big Data and ICT solutions for PM and the facilitation of innovation within the market to advance PM in both the European Union (EU) and China.…”