Personalised medicine: perhaps the most exciting career path in pharmacy

What does personalised medicine actually mean?

Classic medicine frequently works on the “one size fits all” principle: patients with the same diagnosis receive comparable therapies. Personalised medicine, by contrast, pursues a different approach. It takes account of genetic differences, biomarkers, metabolic processes, lifestyle and environmental factors in order to make therapies more individual and more effective.

This development is particularly visible in oncology. There, medicines are increasingly selected on the basis of genetic tumour markers. According to an analysis by the Personalized Medicine Coalition, more than 35 % of all newly authorised medicines in the USA were personalised therapies in 2023.¹

The importance of pharmacogenetics is also growing strongly: genetic tests can show, for example, whether patients metabolise certain active substances faster or more slowly — a decisive factor for efficacy and side effects.

Why pharmacists are particularly in demand in this field

Hardly any other health profession combines pharmacological knowledge, clinical understanding and medication safety as strongly as pharmacy. That is precisely why pharmacists are increasingly seen as key actors in personalised medicine.

Pharmacists already take on tasks in:

• pharmacogenetic counselling
• clinical drug therapy
• oncological care
• precision medicine programmes in hospitals
• biomarker-supported treatment planning
• medication safety and data analysis

A study in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association showed that pharmacists can play a central role in implementing pharmacogenetic tests in everyday clinical practice, particularly in interpretation and medication adjustment.²

Switzerland offers good conditions for this: with strong universities, a world-leading pharmaceutical industry and highly specialised hospital medicine, the country is among the relevant innovation locations in precision medicine.

How to get started

Entry frequently comes through specialised areas within classic pharmacy. Particularly relevant are:

• Hospital pharmacy and oncology Here many pharmacists gather their first experience with individualised therapies and molecular tumour boards.
• The pharmaceutical industry Companies such as Roche or Novartis are investing massively in precision medicine, companion diagnostics and targeted therapies. Roles there are found in medical affairs, clinical development or biomarker science.
• Research and universities Anyone wishing to work scientifically will find entry opportunities through doctorates or research groups in genetics, bioinformatics or translational medicine.
• Digital health and start-ups Health tech companies too increasingly seek pharmacists with an understanding of data, prevention and digital care concepts.

Which skills will be decisive in future?

Personalised medicine markedly changes the competence profile of pharmacists. Alongside classic pharmacology, new abilities are gaining importance.

• Genetics and molecular biology Basic knowledge of genomics, biomarkers and molecular signalling pathways is becoming increasingly relevant.
• Data literacy and digitalisation Handling health data, AI systems and digital tools is becoming ever more important. According to Deloitte, data literacy will be among the central core competences in health care.³
• Clinical counselling competence The more complex therapies become, the more important is the ability to advise patients and physicians intelligibly.
• Interdisciplinary working Precision medicine only functions through the interplay of different specialisms — from physicians and bioinformaticians to laboratory scientists.
• Entrepreneurial thinking New health models often emerge outside classic structures. The capacity to innovate thus becomes a career advantage.

The role of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is likely to accelerate personalised medicine massively in the coming years. AI systems can analyse genetic data, biomarkers and clinical information considerably faster than previous methods.

According to a publication in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, AI could shorten drug development by several years while at the same time improving individualised treatment decisions.⁴

For pharmacists this means: those who additionally possess digital competences will be markedly more attractive on the labour market.

Challenges and critical questions

Despite the great opportunities, personalised medicine also raises questions. Data protection, high therapy costs and ethical aspects are intensively debated.

In addition, not every genetic analysis is clinically meaningful. Experts increasingly warn against commercial genetic tests without sufficient scientific evidence.

In future, pharmacists could therefore appear not only as providers but also as important “translators” of scientific quality, helping patients to distinguish serious offerings from marketing promises.