Sequence2Script: A Web-Based Tool for Translation of Pharmacogenetic Data Into Evidence-Based Prescribing Recommendations

Chad A Bousman; Patrick Wu; Katherine J Aitchison; Tony Cheng

doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.636650

Sequence2Script: A Web-Based Tool for Translation of Pharmacogenetic Data Into Evidence-Based Prescribing Recommendations

Front Pharmacol. 2021 Mar 18:12:636650. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.636650. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Chad A Bousman^{1

2

3}, Patrick Wu⁴, Katherine J Aitchison⁵, Tony Cheng⁶

Affiliations

¹ Departments of Medical Genetics, Psychiatry, and Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
² Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
³ Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁴ Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁵ Departments of Psychiatry, Medical Genetics and the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
⁶ Ushiosoft Corporation, Calgary, AB, Canada.

Abstract

Pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing has emerged as an effective strategy for informing drug selection and dosing. This has led to an increase in the use of PGx testing in the clinic and has catalyzed the emergence of a burgeoning commercial PGx testing industry. However, not all PGx tests are equivalent in their approach to translating testing results into prescribing recommendations, due to an absence of regulatory standards. As such, those generating and using PGx data require tools for ensuring the prescribing recommendations they are provided align with current peer-reviewed PGx-based prescribing guidelines developed by expert groups or approved product labels. Herein, we present Sequence2Script (sequence2script.com), a simple, free, and transparent web-based tool to assist in the efficient translation of PGx testing results into evidence-based prescribing recommendations. The tool was designed with a wide-range of user groups (e.g., healthcare providers, laboratory staff, researchers) in mind. The tool supports 97 gene-drug pairs with evidence-based prescribing guidelines, allows users to adjust recommendations for concomitant inhibitors and inducers, and generates a clinical report summarizing the patient's genotype, inferred phenotype, phenoconverted phenotype (if applicable), and corresponding prescribing recommendations. In this paper, we describe each of the tool's features, provide use case examples, and discuss limitations of and future development plans for the tool. Although we recognize that Sequecnce2Script may not meet the needs of every user, the hope is that this novel tool will facilitate more standardized use of PGx testing results and reduce barriers to implementing these results into practice.

Keywords: decision-making; pharmacogenenomics and personalized medicine; pharmacogenetic; prescription drug; tool.