What is Pharmacogenomics (PGx)?
Pharmacogenomics (PGx) is the science of how a person’s genetic make-up influences the way we respond (either positively or negatively) to drugs.We all know examples where some people treated with medication either respond well, while others do not respond at all, while others experience some serious adverse reaction to the medication.The current paradigm for treating patients with medication is “one size fits all” or as in some cases, medication is based on “trial and error”. Variable inter-individual responses to certain drugs can be influenced by a number of factors, eg age, sex, pathology, life style or co-medication.However, it is becoming more evident that genetics plays a central role.In some instances genetics accounts for up to 60% of the patient variation in responses to drugs. Pharmacogenomics identifies individuals who are at high risk of experiencing adverse drug reactions or those who may not respond to certain medications. Pharmacogenomics is the first step toward “perso
