Why is pharmacogenetics expanding in the industry?
AR. There are a couple of reasons. The industry is contracting because it has been operating on the overall ‘one size fits all’ concept. We’re going to make a drug, everybody’s going to take it at the dose at which we put it out there. With all the failures of proof of concept – the inability to show efficacy with many, many molecules – and with the safety problems that are associated with many molecules, drugs have come under both public and newspaper/journalistic attack for being unsafe and for not working. But the real driving reason for all this is always the finances, and it isn’t as important that you get your drug registered, although that certainly is important, what’s critically important is to get it reimbursed. Pharmacogenetics can identify the people in advance who will respond to the drug once it’s on the market because of studies that were done during development – companion diagnostics. The insurer or the national health service, or whoever’s making these decisions, can
