'Personalised medicines' can benefit Scots firms

A RELUCTANCE by governments to pay for expensive drugs creates opportunities for Scots life science firms that make "personalised medicines", according to a senior lawyer.

Fiona Nicolson, an intellectual property partner at law firm Bristows, said last month's refusal by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) to use bowel cancer drug Avastin on costs grounds highlighted the pressure on health services.

Although Nice's decision does not apply in Scotland, Nicolson said the pressure on resources would only get worse as governments around the world cut their budgets in the face of economic constraints.

So-called "personalised medicines" are designed to treat groups of people whose genes mean they may suffer from a particular disease or respond to treatments in set ways.

Nicolson said: "Nimble bio-companies may be able to fill the gap in drug development - particularly those that are involved in some of the newest technologies. For example, in the development of personalised medicines, which are targeted at specific patient groups and are less likely to fail clinical trials.

"That could be good for some Scottish bio companies. The work they do is increasingly likely to attract the attention of big pharma and the funds they bring with them."

Graeme Boyle, director of Nexxus, the Central Scotland life science network, pointed to the work being done on personalised medicine by firms including Renishaw Diagnostics, Sistemic and PTL, formerly Haptogen.

Boyle said research at Edinburgh University was helping to "underpin a significant and growing cohort of bioscience companies working on personalised medicines".