(778l) The Impact of Pharmacogenomics on the Pharmaceutical Industry

This presentation was based on work conducted as a Washington Intern for Students of Engineering. Pharmacogenomics is the study of genetic variation in humans to realize more effective and safe approaches to drug therapy. The specificity of matching the drug compound to an individual is more generally known as ?personalized medicine?. Identification of relevant genetic markers would help to predict an individual's predisposition to a given condition, thereby reducing trial-and-error dosing and adverse drug responses. Although the social benefits of pharmacogenomics are promising, many challenges remain, and the technology must not compromise health safety and not exacerbate health disparities across ethnic or socio-economic lines. The emergence of pharmacogenomics will drive fundamental changes in drug development and marketing, government regulatory processes, and the health care systems.