Translating the Genome into individualized therapeutics

Abstract

AbstractThe successful completion of the Human Genome Project marked a culmination of numerous advances in genetic research and is viewed as a significant turning point in biology and medicine. Many aspects of medicine and health care may be directly affected by the unraveling of the human genome, including the development of new drugs. Genetic and genomic technologies are being implemented in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in search of a competitive advantage in the continual race to discover new therapeutics and bring them to market. These companies are expecting the technologies to enable them to more quickly obtain valuable information on the etiology of diseases, the mechanism of drug action, and treatment response. Successful examples of the implementation of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics have already emerged from the “genome revolution.” The spread of genetic and genomic knowledge throughout all phases of drug development should lead to the successful development of individualized, safer, and more efficacious therapeutics. Ideally, such drugs will maximize therapeutic effects and improve patients' overall quality of life. Drug Dev. Res. 62:371–382, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.