The U.S. personalized medicine market is worth $232 billion and is projected to grow 11 percent annually, according to a recent report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

According to the healthcare advisory firm, personalized medicine, which targets individualized treatment and care based on personal and genetic variation, is creating a booming market.

The market for a more personalized approach to health and wellness will grow to as much as $452 billion by 2015, according to the New York City-headquartered company.

According to the report:

• The core diagnostic and therapeutic segment, comprised primarily of pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies, is estimated at $24 billion and is expected to grow by 10 percent annually, reaching $42 billion by 2015.
• The personalized medical care portion, including telemedicine, health IT and disease management services, could grow tenfold to over $100 billion by 2015 if telemedicine takes off.
• The related nutrition and wellness market, including retail, complementary and alternative medicine, is estimated at $196 billion and is projected to grow seven percent annually to over $290 billion by 2015.

The promise of personalized medicine has been predicated upon advances in genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, completion of the human genome map and development of "targeted" diagnostics and therapeutics, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“We are now seeing a blurring of the lines between traditional healthcare offerings and consumer-oriented wellness products and services. The market potential is enormous for any company that learns to leverage the science, target individuals and develop products and services that promote health," said David M. Levy, MD, global healthcare leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

A disruptive innovation will create both opportunities and challenges for traditional healthcare and emerging market participants, the firm predicted. Additionally, consumer demand for personalized care is creating new opportunities for direct-to-customer diagnostic, consumer products and telecom and technology market participants, according to the advising company.

PricewaterhouseCoopers expressed that there will be some challenges to the traditional healthcare organizations as a result of the growth of personal medicine. Notably, it is one of the market forces driving the changing business model of Big Pharma away from the blockbuster drug model to a more collaborative model focused on outcomes and specialized therapies.

Other challenges PricewaterhouseCoopers included were:

• Primary care providers may have to build new service lines around prevention and wellness to replace revenues lost from traditional medical procedures. When they do, providers can expect to face low-cost competition from non-healthcare companies skilled in consumer marketing and consumers armed with knowledge of their options.
• Physicians will need training in genomics and proteomics to stay relevant in the area of personalized medicine.
• How payors approach personalized medicine will be critical, as their reimbursement schemes will influence the business models of pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies as well as providers who depend on third-party payment.
• Personalized medicine targets small populations which are far less stable and predictable from an actuarial standpoint.