Personalised Medicines

Importance of pharmacogenomics

Pharmacogenomics aims to apply discoveries and methods arising from genomic studies to help in drug discovery and to improve the efficacy and safety of medicines. This new field has the potential to revolutionize how medicine is practiced in three major ways:

a) by using results from genetics and proteomics to identify novel targets for drug development.

b) improving biological prediction of response to drugs by understanding how genetic inheritance influences variability in response to drugs; it may thus become possible to select more effective medicines by genetic tailoring to individuals;

c) by genetic profiling of pharmacokinetic and metabolic responses to medicines to reduce occurrence of unwanted effects of individual high risk drugs and predicting and so avoiding potentially harmful drug interactions.

These benefits have great potential to improve treatment outcomes by improved drug targeting of disease, by reducing delays in achieving optimum outcome of treatment, and avoiding morbidity and costs associated with avoidable unwanted reactions to drugs.

Interests in pharmacogenomics at Warwick University

There are complementary interests in pharmacogenomics at Warwick within the Medical School and in affiliated biomedical research groups within Biological Sciences and in Horticultural Research. There are also interests in the Health Economics of pharmacogenetics within Warwick Business School, and in Public Understanding, Ethics and related issues within Social Sciences and in Public Health.

Useful links

Royal Society report on Personalised Medicines: hopes and realities

International workshop on Personalised Medicines at Warwick 27th May 2005 - PGHEART

International Symposium on Personalised Medicines: from bench to future practice Wed 5th July 2006 - 3rd AC21 Forum, University of Warwick July 3-7 2006

For further information, contact: Donald Singer