Health information technology (HIT) is believed to be central to improving the quality and cost effectiveness of health care in the United States. As a result of recent major federal investment, the diffusion of HIT is expected to surge in the next five years. As HIT becomes widespread, it will be a potent source of detailed, population-level health information and provide new insights on how health care is delivered in the U.S. These databases will have significant value for research including genomics, comparative effectiveness studies, health services research, and clinical trials.
New technologies are enabling the arrival of the much awaited affordable genome the ability to sequence an individuals or a tumors entire genome quickly and inexpensively [whole genome sequencing (WGS)]. WGS is now being offered in clinical care and is expected to become more widely used in the near future, particularly in cancer. However, this technological advance threatens to outpace our ability to use it effectively in clinical practice and to address the associated health policy issues.
The purpose of this study is to provide empirical data on effects of intellectual property (IP) and commercialization on clinical translation of noninvasive prenatal genetic testing (NIPT) and identify potential barriers to clinical adoption and patient access. Advances in technologies for genetic analysis of cell-free fetal DNA could make NIPT routine. Early clinical trials indicate that sequencing-based NIPT tests for chromosomal aneuploidies are more accurate than currently used noninvasive screening tests.
The prevailing model for ethical review of multicenter clinical trials is a distributed system of reviews conducted by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of each institution engaged in the conduct of the trial. Conducting multiple reviews of a single protocol can delay the commencement of multicenter research and delay patient access to potentially beneficial treatments.
established countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with a high per-capita university education and progressive research agenda. It is also the hub for pharmaceutical drug development with over 20 companies generating generic drugs and exporting it to the region and globally. Jordanian pharmaceutical companies involve 7 Contract Research Organizations (CROs) in Jordan to conduct clinical drug trial and related human research.
Whole genome sequencing has vast potential to improve the care of generally healthy adults by identifying predispositions for disease to facilitate targeted prevention and screening efforts, by informing treatment options when illnesses do develop, and more. It may also cause more harm than good through false-positive findings, through unnecessary monitoring because of incomplete genetic penetrance, and because the conditions identified by genomic sequencing may lack effective prevention options.
Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), a cell-free DNA screening test of fetal chromosomal abnormalities using maternal plasma, has been heralded as ?revolutionizing prenatal screening and diagnosis. Introduced commercially in late 2011, the rapid clinical adoption of NIPT highlights genomic medicine?s growth and enormous promise for patient care. The research landscape stemming from genomic and precision medicine endeavors, however, necessitates concomitant efforts to monitor population health impact and assure equity in access to these advances.
Using emerging genomic information to create opportunities for targeted or risk-based screening in cancer prevention and control is a critical component of President Obama's Precision Medicine Initiative. But precision genomic screening raises multiple ELSI (ethical, legal, social, and policy) concerns. The proposed embedded ELSI research project presents a unique opportunity to follow and assess the ELSI issues that accompany a pioneering randomized pragmatic clinical trial of a risk-based approach to breast cancer screening.
Advances in technology have led to the availability of genetic testing for a wide range of conditions for healthy or high-risk newborns. It is expected that the funds spent on genetic testing in the U.S. will reach $25 billion by 2021. With the numerous uses of genomic information, understanding the clinical value and long-term impact of genomic technologies on morbidity, mortality, quality of life, and diagnosis and treatment costs is essential.
Project Summary The breakneck pace of development towards potential uses of germline gene editing (GGE) in medicine raises some very crucial ethical questions. Though much research still needs to be done before GGE will be safe for use on humans, the technology has progressed very rapidly over the past few years. Among the most pressing of the ethical issues raised by GGE are those concerning human subjects research. Future clinical trials will confront novel ethical conundrums that are difficult to resolve given current guidelines.