Mohammed Naraghi, CEO of Diagnostic Products Corp (DPC), will present a lecture entitled The Precision of Knowledge in Molecular Medicine: The Convergence of In-Vivo and In-Vitro Diagnostic Technologies with Healthcare IT Solutions at the Lab InfoTech Summit on March 5, 2007. Here is a link to the conference brochure. On-line registration is available at the conference web site (Lab InfoTech Summit).
Here is a link to previous notes in this blog about Siemens and their recent investments in the IVD vertical market. I have heard from reliable sources that Dr. Naraghi will be the CEO of the merged DPC and Bayer Diagnostics company. This merged entity that will be called Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics (see: Health Imaging News) and will be a major force in the sector.
Given this series of events, we all need to understand what is meant by molecular medicine? As I understand it, the Siemens view is that medical imaging, molecular imaging, and molecular diagnostics are converging to form this new discipline. Molecular medicine strives to understand the molecular basis for the normal physiologic functions of the body and the pathogenesis of disease, and based on this knowledge, to design better molecular tools for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. A better understanding of molecular medicine will inexorably lead to earlier (i.e., presymptomatic diagnosis) which is discussed in previous notes (links here).
What is fascinating for me about this strategic direction on the part of Siemens and its competitors is the following question: If the for-profit healthcare industry embraces the concept of molecular medicine, what effects, if any, will this have on healthcare delivery and physician specialty practice? For example, will the distinctions between medical imaging and molecular diagnostics begin to blur in the minds of test-ordering clinicians? Will this serve as an impetus for radiology and pathology/lab medicine to align more closely. I have blogged previously about this topic (see: Ten Reasons for Merging Pathology/Lab Medicine with Radiology) and it will also be the basis for my own lecture at the Lab InfoTech Summit.
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