Research in pharmacogenomics points to a seismic shift in drug therapy, from a "one-size-fits-all" approach to a new era of personalized medicine, in which doctors will increasingly be able to prescribe the right drug at the right dose for the right person. Often used interchangeably with pharmacogenetics, pharmacogenomics is the study of how inherited genetic differences in humans influence individual responses to drugs.
Courtesy of Genaissance Pharmaceuticls |
Although a new world of gene-based medicine is many years away, the first wave of DNA-based tests to predict drug response is on the near horizon. "We strongly believe that pharmacogenomics will shortly transform the way drugs are developed, marketed, and prescribed. I think you're going to see the benefits of this appearing within a five-year timeframe," predicts Gerald F. Vovis, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, a New Haven, Conn.-based pharmacogenomics company.
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