Matching drugs to DNA is the "new era of medicine"

Some drugs are completely ineffective or can be life and health hazards due to subtle differences in how our bodies function.

Prof. Mark Caulfield, president-elect of the British Pharmacological Society, pointed out that: "99.5% of us have at least one change in our genome that, if we hit the wrong drug, will either not work or actually do harm."

Over five million people in the UK experience no pain reduction with codeine. Their genetic code does not include instructions for making the enzyme that breaks down codeine into morphine, without which the drug will not work. The genetic code of one in 500 people increases the risk of hearing loss after taking an antibiotic with gentamicin. In addition, as we age and are prescribed more and more drugs, there is a 70% chance that by the age of 70 you will be taking at least one drug that is influenced by our genetics.

Pharmacogenomics is already used for some drugs. In the past, 5-7% of people reacted badly to Abacavir, the anti-HIV drug. Testing human DNA before prescribing a drug reduces the risk to zero.

Scientists looked at the top 100 prescribed medications in the UK. According to their report, the current technology allows genetic testing to be conducted to guide the use of 40 of them.

The initial vision is to perform a genetic test when one of 40 drugs is prescribed. In the long run, the ambition is to get tested well in advance - perhaps right after birth or as part of a routine checkup in your 50s.

"We must move away from the principle of" one drug, one dose for all "in favor of a more personalized approach where patients receive the right drug at the right dose to improve the efficacy and safety of drugs." - said prof. Sir Munir Pirmohamed from the University of Liverpool.

Source: James Gallagher, BBC News