Pharmacogenetics and the Way in which People Respond to Drugs.

Introduction of pharmacogenomics Pharmacogenomics investigates how genetic inheritance of an individual affects body reactions to drugs. Because this term comes from pharmacology and genomics, it is a common point between medicine and genetics. Pharmacogenomics promises to tailor medicines to individuals and adapt them to the genetic makeup of each individual one day. The environment, diet, age, lifestyle, and health all affect the response to medicine, but understanding the individual genetic makeup is the key to making individualized medicines with higher efficacy and safety It is conceivable.

Pharmacogenetics refers to the study of specific genetic variation among individuals (Zika et al., 2006). Although the term "pharmaceutical genetics" may be used in a limited sense to explain how different genetic variations affect drug response, the effect of genetics on human drug response (Newton et al., 2007). Factors that affect individual response to a drug include its external and internal environment, overall health condition, and even its genetic makeup. The purpose of pharmacogenetics is to understand the role of individual genetic makeup in the way drugs work and possible side effects of individuals.

One area of ​​pharmacogenetics is pharmacogenomics, which not only attempts to understand the molecular composition of genetic variants associated with drug response, but also attempts to understand the behavior of these variants 14. Knowledge of pharmacogenomics can be used to detect the disease before the patient develops the disease, improve the efficacy during drug treatment, and reduce drug toxicity 2. It can also promote the drug development process, leading to the development of new diagnostic tests that improve the outcome of clinical development, reduce the overall cost of drug development and influence treatment decisions 2. Physicians can use pharmacogenomics to determine the optimal dose and medication for each patient, resulting in greater efficacy and safety. Dose is determined based on factors such as age, weight, diet, lifestyle, liver, kidney function etc. By using pharmacogenetic examinations, physicians can determine the correct dosage of individual patients.

Potential barriers to the development of pharmacogenetic tests include the application of intellectual property. Drug genetic testing can be developed in various ways. Pharmaceutical companies developing drugs can also develop pharmacogenetic tests. Alternatively, third parties such as other companies and researchers in the public sector can develop their own tests. In addition, although the role of pharmacogenetics may be to reduce some of the costs of drug development, it is not advisable to conclude that the cost of drug purchase must be reduced (Nuffield Council on Bioethics, 2003 ).