Personalised Medicine in India

Ramesh Kumar, Rahul Patel & Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi

The biggest challenges today that the third world countries are facing include affordability and accessibility of quality healthcare. India is also facing similar hurdles in providing health care amenities to the masses. Technological advancements can address these challenges. One such advancement is Personalised Medicine/Precision Medicine (PM). World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) published its Forum Report in 2016 on Personalised medicine entitled, “PRECISION MEDICINE–A GLOBAL ACTION PLAN FOR IMPACT” which emphasised on customised and tailored treatments as per the needs of the individual patients. This report championed the concept of precision medicine with patient-centric approach of treatment. Healthcare is undergoing drastic transformation with the growing technology and it is imperative to leverage new technologies to generate new data and support the advent of Personalised medicine (PM). European Union Health Ministers, adopted by the Horizon 2020 Advisory Group observe Personalised medicine as a “medical model using the characterisation of individuals’ phenotypes and genotypes for treatment strategy, and to determine the predisposition to disease and to deliver timely and targeted prevention”. Personalisation encourages medicine to be more precise, safer, and more exact to control disease while efficiently curbing the risk of medication-related morbidity. A study conducted by Chakraborty et.al. published in the Indian Journal ofRheumatology in the year 2022 revealed that saving on the economic burden of unnecessary medications and treatment of adverse effects, with fewer Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) lost due to quicker disease control, might also offset costs. The completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003 had scattered the questions of annotation and genetic contemplation. Researchers’ main focus for Personalised medicine (PM) in healthcare systems is mainly in the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), and the European Union (EU). Another study also believes that such type of medical treatment is a paradigm shift in healthcare from the current “one-size-fits-all” to a more Personalised approach. The “one-size-fits-all” approach is a traditional approach which needs to be altered because it is based on data derived from broad population averages and individual’s genetic makeup is different from the other. A scientific research published in the reputed journal Life Sciences, Society and Policy in the year 2020 by Qoronfleh et.al. emphasising the need of PM opines that, “Recent scientific breakthroughs and technological advancements have improved our disease knowledge and altered diagnosis and treatment approaches resulting in a more precise, preventative and providing the improved quality of life and helping to bring down healthcare costs. This policy briefing will look in detail at the issues surrounding continued development, sustained investment, risk factors, testing and approval of innovations for better strategy and faster process”. In this way the 4 P’s of the medicine system viz. Personalised, Preventive, Predictive and Participatory offer more global vision to PM and may transform the health care delivery system and associated management worldwide.

Despite its high cost, many countries have started to adopt this novel PM technology including Southeast Asia. At the same time, these healthcare systems are striving towards universal health coverage to ensure everyone has access to needed health services, without undue financial hardship, financial constraint remains as one of the main challenges in attaining and maintaining universal health coverage. Davis et.al. in their study in 2009 said that adopting expensive PM would place increasing strain on the already constrained healthcare budget, further raises concerns on equitable, affordable and sustainable of such healthcare delivery to populations in the context of universal health coverage. Thus, the need of an efficient healthcare delivery is highly critical. The US FDA, European Medicines Agency, and regulators in Japan and South Korea have issued detailed frameworks integrating Personalised medicine into drug approvals, diagnostics, and treatment protocols. Their systems link hospitals, health records, trial registries, and pricing models, thereby creating end-to-end clarity. India has one of the highest burdens of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and cancer. These are precisely the diseases where personalisation improves compliance, reduces hospital stays, and cuts long-term costs. With an aging population and rising lifestyle diseases, standardised treatment is economically unsustainable. It is also relevant in multi-drug resistance, a growing challenge in India. It allows tailoring treatments based on what has failed for a patient before reducing trial and error prescriptions that increase resistance and costs.

Current Indian Medical System and scenario
India’s healthcare system has undergone a dramatic transformation in past 11 years since 2014-2025. It has witnessed substantial transformation driven by robust policy interventions, political commitment, increased funding, and technology-driven solutions. The National Health Mission has emerged as the cornerstone of this revolution, establishing over 1.77 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (ARMs) and leveraging digital platforms to democratise healthcare access across the country. About 28 crore are screened for hypertension, 27 crore for diabetes, and 27 crore for oral cancer and focused on cancer screening: breast, cervical, and oral cancer screening prioritised along with Universal immunisation and public health milestones were available at these Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. According to the UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group, India’s MMR declined by 86%, which is almost double the global average decline and India’s Infant Mortality Rate reduced by 73%, compared to a global decline of 58%. These efforts aim to build an affordable, accessible, equitable, and quality healthcare system, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-3) and national objectives under Ayushman Bharat and National Health Mission (NHM). This foundation positions India to achieve its ambitious vision of universal healthcare, marking a historic shift toward ensuring affordable, equitable, and quality healthcare reaches every corner of the nation. India has made strides in healthcare regulations with the introduction of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), which aims to create a unified digital health ecosystem. The introduction of e-pharmacies is also being regulated by the government to ensure safe and legitimate online medical transactions. The regulation of telemedicine (eSanjeevani: Enabled remote consultations, Tele-MANAS: Specialised mental health) has also gained traction, with the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines released by the Medical Council of India (MCI) in 2020.

Why Personalised System of Medicine is need for Indians
According to report of national programme for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (2023-2030) Ministry of Health & Family Welfare Government of India 2023, 63% of deaths in NCDs are estimated to account for 63% of all deaths in country. Government of India expensed 1.84% of GDP for health, out of this about 0.5% of GDP is utilised in Non-communicable diseases. Non Communicable disease requires personalised medication which improves compliance, reduces hospital stays, and cuts long-term costs. With an aging population and rising lifestyle diseases, standardised treatment is economically unsustainable. It is also relevant in multi-drug resistance (MDR), a growing challenge in India. In countries with organised healthcare systems, it is already making a dent in healthcare outcomes and cost-efficiency. The real question for India is not whether people should adopt personalised medicine, but whether India’s legal and regulatory system can support it.

The Indian government’s proactive initiatives to promote healthcare innovation directly impact the India Personalised Medicine Market. National Health Mission and ‘Ayushman Bharat’ schemes emphasise advancements in healthcare technology and affordable treatment for all. Supported by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), these initiatives aim to foster growth in the biotech and Personalised medicine sector. With more than 500 biotech startups emerging in India due to policies promoting research and development, the government is creating a conducive environment for Personalised medicine to thrive, thus significantly boosting the industry’s prospects in Personalised therapeutics. The rapid advancements in genomic research and technology are propelling the India Personalised Medicine Market. With a growing number of genomic sequencing projects, such as the Indian Genome Variation database (IGVdb) project, which has mapped the genetic variation across diverse Indian populations, there is an increasing pool of data available for developing customised treatments. The Indian government has been supportive of this by funding various genomic medicine initiatives, which has led to a pronounced rise in precision medicine applications in healthcare. According to recent data from the Department of Biotechnology, the sector could see a surge in companies leveraging genomic data for developing medications, which reinforces the impact on Personalised medicine strategies. The rising incidence of non-communicable diseases is significantly boosting the growth of the India Personalised Medicine market. According to the National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, the number of cancer cases in India is expected to rise from 14 lakh in 2020 to an estimated 29 lakh by 2040 while in the case of diabetes 642 million patient expected till 2040 which is a significant public health concern, with factors like high BMI, nutritional intake, and physical inactivity contributing to the rise in T2D. This continuous increase puts pressure on the healthcare system and drives the demand for Personalised medicine strategies that target the unique genetic make-up of patients for more effective treatment. Organisations like the Tata Memorial Centre are at the forefront, utilising Personalised medicine approaches for treating cancer, thereby impacting treatment outcomes and pushing for innovations within the industry. As the number of patients requiring tailored therapies increases, the viability and attractiveness of the India Personalised Medicine Market grow, making it a focal area for investment and development. As per Market Research Future database analysis, the India’s Personalised Medicine market size was estimated at 27.83 (USD Billion) in 2023, which is expected to grow from 29.84(USD Billion) in 2024 to 80.0 (USD Billion) by 2035. The India Personalised Medicine market capital annual growth rate is expected to be around 9.381% during the forecast period (2025-2035).

Personalised medicine is in its infancy in India. The ability to offer Personalised medicine solutions to Indian patients in the traditional sense of the term requires widespread infrastructure for multi omic testing in addition to the ability to analyse the data, all at considerable cost. However, as mentioned earlier, precision need not be limited to using multi-omics techniques and can start from simple, clinical data. The considerable diversity and large number of patients in India offer opportunities to test personalisation on such low-cost, simple data. One can envisage the following initial steps that can be taken in this regard such as improved data collection and curative capabilities, investing in standardised electronic health and records makes the gathering of phenotypic data easier, leverage databases and maintained cohorts in India. Multi-centre collation of databases across countries and bio-banking of samples to enable answering questions in the future may help to accelerate efficiency. Such data can then be used for questions related to prognostics and diagnostics by making databases public. The Radiological Society of North America, 2017 Pediatric Bone age Challenge is an example. It provides an anonymised database for competitors to use artificial intelligence to create a bone age assessment tool. Such challenges can spur interesting questions and creative answers to personalise medicine.

Establishment of Indian Society of Personalised Medicine (Regd.) by Era University, Lucknow indicates efforts for collaboration with numerous advisors from both national and international backgrounds aiming to promote and advance the field of Personalised Medicine in India through research, education, and collaboration. Its members include leading scientists, clinicians, and healthcare professionals from across the countries, who are dedicated to tailoring medical treatments to individual patients based on their genetic profiles and other unique characteristics. What else people need today is to encourage such efforts through proper policy enactments and eradicating the limitations arising due to weak implementation of policies on health care.

[Dr Ramesh Kumar, Department of Biochemistry, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab, U.P .Email: rameshbiochem91@gmail.com, Mb: 8090715177
Prof Rahul Patel, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, U.P.Email: rahul.anthropologist@gmail.com
Dr Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi, Post Doctoral Fellow (ICSSR), Department of Anthropology, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, U.P, Email: sanjaydwivedi.anthro@gmail.com]

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Frontier
Vol 58, No. 20, Nov 9 - 15, 2025