Q J Med 2000; 93: 391-423
© 2000 Association of Physicians
Reviews |
Impact of genomics on drug discovery and clinical medicine
1 From the Laboratory of Pharmacology, 2 Diabetes and Nutrition Unit, and 5 Department of Neurology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium, 3 Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK, and 4Neuroregeneration Laboratories, Harvard Medical School, McLean & Massachusetts General Hospital, Belmont MA, USA
Genomics, particularly high-throughput sequencing and characterization of expressed human genes, has created new opportunities for drug discovery. Knowledge of all the human genes and their functions may allow effective preventive measures, and change drug research strategy and drug discovery development processes. Pharmacogenomics is the application of genomic technologies such as gene sequencing, statistical genetics, and gene expression analysis to drugs in clinical development and on the market. It applies the large-scale systematic approaches of genomics to speed the discovery of drug response markers, whether they act at the level of the drug target, drug metabolism, or disease pathways. The potential implication of genomics and pharmacogenomics in clinical research and clinical medicine is that disease could be treated according to genetic and specific individual markers, selecting medications and dosages that are optimized for individual patients. The possibility of defining patient populations genetically may improve outcomes by predicting individual responses to drugs, and could improve safety and efficacy in therapeutic areas such as neuropsychiatry, cardiovascular medicine, endocrinology (diabetes and obesity) and oncology. Ethical questions need to be addressed and guidelines established for the use of genomics in clinical research and clinical medicine. Significant achievements are possible with an interdisciplinary approach that includes genetic, technological and therapeutic measures.
Address correspondence to Dr G. Emilien, 127 rue Henri Prou, 78340 Les Clayes Sous Bois, France. e-mail: Gemilien{at}aol.com
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  A. Hedgecoe Pharmacogenetics as Alien Science: Alzheimer's Disease, Core Sets and Expectations Social Studies of Science, October 1, 2006; 36(5): 723 - 752. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. S.-J. Lee Racializing Drug Design: Implications of Pharmacogenomics for Health Disparities Am J Public Health, December 1, 2005; 95(12): 2133 - 2138. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Hedgecoe and P. Martin The Drugs Don't Work: Expectations and the Shaping of Pharmacogenetics Social Studies of Science, June 1, 2003; 33(3): 327 - 364. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. D. Hockett, S. C. Kirkwood, B. H. Mitlak, and W. H. Dere Pharmacogenomics in Endocrinology J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., June 1, 2002; 87(6): 2495 - 2499. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|