On the heels of announcing $55 million in investments in partnerships to support the Precision Medicine Initiative, President Barack Obama wrote an op-ed in the Boston Globe detailing his vision and hope for the personalized medicine in the U.S.
The National Institutes of Health announced Thursday its investment in partnerships and infrastructure to launch the cohort program of the Precision Medicine Initiative, which entails enrolling at least 1 million individuals to provide lifestyle and genetic information to a biobank in an effort to advance research related to precision medicine.
President Obama's op-ed largely reiterates what the administration has said before regarding precision medicine, that it holds great promise to find and develop individualized treatments, will help scientists better understand disease factors and will help keep people healthy proactively instead of treating them when sick.
"The ensuing breakthroughs could help people live longer, happier and healthier lives; create new jobs and industries in the United States; and, by improving care, will ultimately make our entire health system work better," President Obama wrote.
He continued, "One of my administration's proudest accomplishments has been expanding access to affordable healthcare to 20 million Americans. Now we're working to ensure more people will also have access to information that makes their healthcare more effective. It won't happen overnight, but we're standing once again at the doorstep of discovery."
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