Pharmacogenomics

Broadly, pharmacogenomics refers to the effect of genetics on drug metabolism, safety, tolerability, and/or efficacy. Pharmacogenomics can be divided into two broad categories: (1) those that affect the pharmacokinetics of the drug (i.e., its absorption, distribution, metabolism, and/or elimination generally as a result of genetic variation in either drug metabolizing enzymes or transporters) and (2) the pharmacodynamics of the drug (i.e., its effect on its primary or secondary mechanisms of action).

Currently, more is known about the clinically meaningful genetic variations in pharmacokinetics than in pharmacodynamics, but new discoveries are being reported on an almost daily basis. That has led to the concept of “personalized medicine” in which a specific drug or a specific dose of a specific drug is chosen for a specific individual based ...

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