ABSTRACT
A crucial attribute of genetically stratifying personalised medicine technologies is the combination of a biomarker test (or a set of more than one) and a therapeutic decision which is made according to the test results. The biomarker test – often called a ‘companion diagnostic’ – is an essential part of the personalised medicine treatment strategy. The US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval agency even stated in a recent reflection paper that it would not approve a new drug without the companion biomarker test if a marker is known (FDA, 2011).
