Joint meeting with the British Pharmacological Society and the Pharmacological and Clinical Pharmacological Societies of Canada, University of Bath, Symposium on Pharmacogenetics, 12 July 1996

Abstract

The symposium was presented by speakers from both Canada and the United Kingdom. It was fitting that Werner Kalow, who has been so active in the field for nearly 40 years, should give a historical perspective and indicate future directions for the subject. Important among the latter is the growing contribution of pharmacogenetics to clarifying susceptibility to certain disease states. This was illustrated by Maria Arranz in respect of drug response to schizophrenia, Denise Tompkins in a discussion of drug dependence and Ann Daly in connection with lung cancer. Denis Grant reviewed the pharmacogenetics of N‐acetylation and indicated the susceptibility of certain allelic variants to cancer, notably of the urinary bladder. Nigel Baber described the implications that variation in drug metabolism has for selecting candidate compounds to develop into therapeutic drugs. Abstracts of the lectures follow.