Obama unveils plan for precision medicine

Major biomedical research initiative can help people overcome the accidents and circumstances of birth with drugs and treatments tailored to the characteristics of a patient

Published Sun, Feb 1, 2015 · 09:50 PM

Washington

DECLARING that "the possibilities are boundless", President Barack Obama announced a major biomedical research initiative, including plans to collect genetic data on a million Americans so that scientists can develop drugs and treatments tailored to the characteristics of individual patients.

Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, said that the studies would help doctors decide which treatments would work best for which patients.