precision medicine

noun

plural precision medicines

: a branch of medicine concerned with developing therapies targeted to individuals or particular groups based on their unique genetic, molecular, or phenotypic characteristics

Pharmacogenomics is an emerging field at the heart of precision medicine that uses a person's genetic information to help guide drug selection and dose.

—Charis Eng et al.

Although precision medicine might make sense for people with certain conditions that are difficult and expensive to treat, such as autoimmune diseases, critics argue that on the whole, simpler approaches to treating disease are better because they cost less and benefit far more patients.

—Jeneen Interlandi

also : a therapy developed in this manner

The company's immediate focus is to build a registry that will collect the genetic data of kidney disease patients and use it to discover mutations and molecular drivers of the disease that can be treated with precision medicines.

—Robert Weisman

called also personalized medicine

Examples of precision medicine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The company said the findings support a growing shift toward precision medicine, where therapies are tailored to the biological characteristics of an individual’s disease rather than applying the same treatment approach to all patients with similar clinical features. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 30 May 2026

In 2020, the Murdochs donated $5 million to establish a perpetual fellowship supporting leading researchers in fields including stem cell technology and genomic precision medicine. —Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2026

As expectations grow for faster, more insightful studies, a McKinsey report notes that innovation has accelerated toward precision medicine and the use of real-world data (RWD). —Avik Pal, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2026

The donation will also support research initiatives advancing precision medicine approaches including studies of treatment response, comprehensive molecular profiling to personalize therapy and the application of artificial intelligence to detect trends that can guide more effective care. —Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for precision medicine

• biomedicine
• telemedicine

Medical Definition

precision medicine

noun

: a branch of medicine concerned with developing therapies targeted to individuals or particular groups based on their unique genetic, molecular, or phenotypic characteristics

also : a therapy developed in this manner

More than one-quarter (27%) of all new approvals are precision medicines. They rely on biomarker and genetic data to identify a far more targeted patient subpopulation that has a much higher likelihood of responding to a new treatment safely and effectively.

—Ken Getz, Applied Clinical Trials

called also personalized medicine