UCSF School of Pharmacy

What is Pharmacogenomics

It is the quickly growing field of science that studies the effects of individual genetic variations on drug response.

The end result of pharmacogenomics research will be to match an individual's genetic profile to the best drug that will do the most good with the least harm to the body.

Different Genes, Different Reactions

In 2000, the Institute of Medicine published To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System which identified adverse reactions to prescribed drugs as a leading cause of death in the United States.

Any adverse relationship between drugs and genes runs along a continuum, depending upon the individual and the medication:

• One person might have no response to a particular medication.
• Another person might have a slight reaction to the same medication.
• A third person might experience a severe or life-threatening drug response.
• A fourth person might die.
• Still another person might have an adverse reaction because of the combination of drugs being taken.

A person's genetic profile influences where on this continuum he or she will fall when taking a particular medication.

As the Science Succeeds, Patients Benefit

Pharmacogenomics research will enable patients to receive the best possible individualized drug treatment based upon their genotypes. One predicted sequence of developments in the field is presented here:

Establishment of prescribing guidelines, based on clinical studies, for drugs that are subject to substantial polymorphism metabolism.

Prescribing advice will relate dose to genotype and will highlight the possibility of drug interactions when multiple drugs are prescribed concomitantly.

Establishment and recording of individual patient genotypes -- that is, personal pharmacogenetic profiles.

Pharmacogenetic testing will substantially reduce the need for hospitalization, and its associated costs, because of adverse drug reactions.

Development of new drugs for patients with specific genotypes -- that is, drug stratification.

Source: Wolf CR, Smith G., and Smith R. "Science, Medicine, and the Future: Pharmacogenetics." British Medical Journal; April 8, 2000; 320: 987. PDF version (210 KB, 4 pages, Requires Adobe Reader)

Go To: Center for Pharmacogenomics home page