Q&A with Kathryn A. Phillips, Ph.D. The translation of personalized medicine into clinical practice remains in its infancy. Many large challenges remain, including development of a standardized metric to evaluate the clinical utility and cost-effectiveness of molecular-based tests; ethical considerations surrounding return of results in a field where genomic interpretation is rapidly evolving; and establishing a reimbursement framework for large sequencing-based tests. Rather than explore sequencing from a technical angle, this quarter DTET examined the transition of sequencing-based tests into clinical practice from a policy perspective. DTET recently spoke with Kathryn A. Phillips, Ph.D., founder and director of the Center for Translational and Policy Research on Personalized Medicine (TRANSPERS) at University of California, San Francisco, which focuses on developing evidence-based information to guide the use of personalized medicine. Phillips discusses TRANSPERS’ work on increasing transparency of reimbursement policies, developing approaches to evaluating the downstream economic impact of sequencing, and understanding variance in test adoption. TRANSPERS’ Evidence and Reimbursement Policy Advisory Council brings together a variety of key stakeholders. How far apart are industry and payers from establishing requirements for evidence of clinical utility? It is really critical each party understands where the other party is coming from. My sense is […]