Strengths (S) |
Wide prevalence of GORD (possibility to recruit large cohorts) |
Good pathophysiological knowledge |
Several well-identified targets for new therapy |
Weaknesses (W) |
Effective therapy already available for the large majority of patients |
Limited number of predictors of efficacy, and difficulty identifying adequate populations for clinical trials |
Opportunities (O) |
New tools (e.g. pH-impedance) to improve the characterization of phenotypes |
Interest of the scientific community for new concepts (e.g. visceral perception) |
Improved communication about GORD towards larger audiences (public, GPs) |
Threats (T) |
Limited interest of research agencies for non-life-threatening conditions |
Reduced interest of the biomedical industry for GORD and functional disorders in general; fears about safety in non-life-threatening diseases |
Difficulties for innovative treatments to gain funding approval in a difficult economic context |