Applications for Pharmacogenetics / Pharmacogenomics

Within a given indication, drugs are only effective for about 60% of all patients. In oncology response rates are often even significantly lower (10-20%). Besides some patients show severe side effects to drug treatment. A precise prediction of responders to individual drugs and of patients, which show specific side effects, allow individualised or personalised drug therapy. There are clear benefits for patients and doctors, but also for the pharmaceutical companies:

• Benefits for patients and doctors are immediately clear
• Benefits for pharma industry are multifaceted:
  • Cost savings due to lower research expenses: reduced proband and patient numbers are necessary in clinical trials to reach same statistical relevance
  • Earlier admission of drugs and therewith an earlier entry into the market is possible
  • Possibility of re-evaluation / re-positioning of failed drugs or failed clinical trials based on pharmacogenetic aspects
  • Higher acceptance of drugs by doctors and patients
  • Stronger market penetration due to prediction of responders
    
    

Applications for pharmacogenetics / pharmacogenomics in the pharmaceutical industry

There are several applications in the pharmaceutical industry for analysis in the area of pharmacogenetics / pharmacogenomics, like transcriptome analysis, or specific analysis of genes which are important for drug response and drug effect:

• Detection of genetic variability of drug effects on the genome level
• Agent selection
• Analysis of drug reactions and drug toxicity on gene expression (expression profiling)
• Discovery of new drug targets
• Identification of responders / non-responders in clinical trials of phase I-IV
• Identification of genotype-dependent adverse drug reactions
• Identification of individuals at risk for severe adverse drug effects
• Recruitment of responders for clinical trials of phase II and III
• Individualised genotype-based dose adjustment
• Development of new indications for already approved drugs
• Re-evaluation / re-positioning of failed clinical trials or failed drugs based on pharmacogenetic aspects
• Discovery of new action principles of drugs both on pre-clinical and on clinical level