Impact of genomics on drug discovery and clinical medicine

Abstract

Genomics, particularly high-throughput sequencing and characterization of expressed human genes, has created new opportunities for drug discovery. Knowledge of all the human genes and their functions may allow effective preventive measures, and change drug research strategy and drug discovery development processes. Pharmacogenomics is the application of genomic technologies such as gene sequencing, statistical genetics, and gene expression analysis to drugs in clinical development and on the market. It applies the large-scale systematic approaches of genomics to speed the discovery of drug response markers, whether they act at the level of the drug target, drug metabolism, or disease pathways. The potential implication of genomics and pharmacogenomics in clinical research and clinical medicine is that disease could be treated according to genetic and specific individual markers, selecting medications and dosages that are optimized for individual patients. The possibility of defining patient populations genetically may improve outcomes by predicting individual responses to drugs, and could improve safety and efficacy in therapeutic areas such as neuropsychiatry, cardiovascular medicine, endocrinology (diabetes and obesity) and oncology. Ethical questions need to be addressed and guidelines established for the use of genomics in clinical research and clinical medicine. Significant achievements are possible with an interdisciplinary approach that includes genetic, technological and therapeutic measures.