How genetic analysis can be useful in designing drug regimens
28 February 2006, NetworkPharma Ltd, Oxford, UK have published the next in their new KeywordPharma series of Expert Reviews intended for individuals working in and around the global pharmaceutical industry.
Bioinformatics and Drug Safety is now available for purchase. In this Expert Review, John Hammond examines how genetic analysis can be useful in designing drug regimens. It outlines where the best gains for drug safety can be made and how genotyping can help form part of the solution.
Establishing the safest and most efficient drug regimen for a patient can be a trial-and-error process that can, in some cases, place patients at risk. Variability in response to certain drugs between different patients has major implications for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.
The ability to determine the correct drug and dosage for therapy at the outset would contribute significantly to drug safety. It would also lead to a more economical use of drugs, with potential savings for healthcare providers.
It is becoming clear that variability in drug response may be inherited. With the application of genetic analysis, DNA analytical techniques and pharmacokinetics, it has become possible to identify the genes, and the proteins which they encode, that are involved in drug responses.
This Expert Review, Bioinformatics and Drug Safety, looks at how to identify the genes involved in drug response, characterise the variants and devise a convenient means of identifying variants in a patient. It shows how genetic analysis can be a useful tool in designing the drug regimen for the best risk/benefit, and makes a case for genotype testing prior to prescription, and for genotype determination as a part of the clinical trial process.
The author, John Hammond, said: "The past decade has seen a rapid accumulation of data on the genetic content of the human cell. At the same time, fast and economic techniques for DNA analysis have been developed. As a consequence, we are now at a stage where genotype-drug interactions can be investigated relatively easily and the information used to reduce risk in drug therapy."
Peter Llewellyn, Managing Director of NetworkPharma Ltd commented, "Priced at just GBP 25.00 (approx USD 45.00, Euros 38.00) the KeywordPharma Expert Reviews provide a unique slice of expert opinion at a price that most individuals can afford. Until now much of this information has remained too costly to access easily for many individuals working within our industry."
All KeywordPharma publications can be purchased from ThePharmYard at www.ThePharmYard.com
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About the author
John Hammond graduated in Biochemistry and Soil Science from the University of Wales, following this with research for an MSc in the same subject. He was later awarded a DPhil in fungal biochemistry from the University of Sussex. He worked as a government research scientist at the Glasshouse Crops Research Institute, and then at Rothamsted Experimental Station for 17 years, working on fungal and plant biochemistry, molecular biology and genetic manipulation, and authoring over 40 research papers. He has also held visiting research fellowships at the University of California, King’s College, London and the University of Surrey.
After leaving full-time research he was appointed senior lecturer, and later reader, in molecular genetics at the North East Surrey College of Technology. In these positions he developed and taught courses on molecular genetics, biotechnology and DNA technology for undergraduate and postgraduate students. As well as continuing with part-time lecturing in medical and molecular genetics at the college, he now writes on molecular and genetic aspects of medicine, and constructs websites and online learning materials for healthcare companies, as principal of Bioupdates Consultants. He is a Member of the Institute of Biology and a Chartered Biologist.
Written by pharmaceutical industry specialists, KeywordPharma publications are designed to be authoritative, relevant, succinct and helpful to pharmaceutical industry executives in their day-to-day work and in their longer term career development. Available to purchase individually as e-documents, they build into a specialist knowledge library for everyone working in and around the global pharmaceutical industry.
Developed and managed by NetworkPharma Ltd, ThePharmYard provides instant access to a unique database of specialist information which is particularly relevant to individuals working within the medical and pharmaceutical industries around the world. Titles from a diverse range of independent publishers are available to purchase in electronic document format for immediate access.
NetworkPharma Ltd is an independent, specialist company founded by Peter Llewellyn, to focus on novel approaches to disseminating information within the global medical and pharmaceutical industries. Peter Llewellyn previously founded and built the leading industry portal site, InPharm, which was subsequently purchased by John Wiley & Sons to manage alongside their other industry services, PharmaFile and Pharmafocus.
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For more information please contact us via our web site or directly contact Peter Llewellyn, Managing Director, NetworkPharma Ltd, email: peter@networkpharma.com, tel: +44 (0) 1865 865943
