Economic evaluation of pharmacogenetic tests

Abstract

Ever since the sequencing of the human genome was completed, prediction of treatment response in terms of genetic variation has been seen as an important and achievable goal. Pharmacogenetics is the study of how genetic differences affect variation in response to medication. One potential goal of pharmacogenetics is to be able to deliver "personalized medicine" by making management decisions that optimize patient health outcomes based on a patient's genetic makeup. Pharmacogenetic tests have the potential to (i) predict intended response, the goal outcome of the medication; (ii) predict unintended response to the medication, such as adverse events; (iii) titrate medication dose; and (iv) inform the development of novel therapeutics.