Precision medicine: AZ's Ruth March on its next steps

AstraZeneca’s senior vice-president and head of precision medicine, research & development, Ruth March, has been central to the company’s transformed approach to personalised treatment. We spoke to her about how precision medicine has changed and how it will continue to evolve in the near future.

"My role mostly concerns delivering companion diagnostics that are linked to AstraZeneca medicines, extending through all phases of development from early discovery to when drugs reach the market. I look at how we can best use those diagnostics and biomarkers to match the best treatment to the right patients. This covers our core therapy areas of Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism and Respiratory.

"A lot of the challenges but also a lot of the joys of precision medicine come from the fact that we work right across the business. That means our diagnostics experts work incredibly hard, but it’s a very exciting area to be in because everything is constantly changing and technology is improving and accelerating every day. We have a direct link from the basic science to seeing the effect of what we do on patients’ lives, and that connection has to be the most satisfying and rewarding element of the role."

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