The personalized medicine revolution - keep up with the pace
By Sandra Hageman, Eurofins Global Central Laboratory, The Netherlands, and Dr. Brigitte Obermaier, Eurofins Medigenomix, Germany
Over the last decade, pharmacogenetics is increasingly used to predict variation in drug response, thereby aiming to improve the drug development process and to reduce risks in relation to adverse drug effects. Drugs are only effective for about 60% of all patients. Response rates in oncology are often even significantly lower. Besides, some patients show severe side effects while taking a drug.
Variation in drug response is largely caused by genetic variations, mostly by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and combinations of SNPs in relevant genes.
Pharmacogenetics (PGx) allows drug therapy tailored to the individual which is foremost beneficial to the patient themselves. The application of PGx will also benefit the general healthcare system and pharmaceutical companies alike. Pharmacogenetics can be deployed for genetic profiling in the fields of pharmacokinetics (what the body does with the drug – Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion), pharmacodynamics (what are the effects of the drug to the body) and stratification of patients in clinical trials.
Typical examples of relevant genes include drug metabolising enzymes e.g. Cytochrome P450, drug transporters e.g. ABC transporters (ATP binding cassette), drug receptors e.g. HER2/neu receptor and signal transduction proteins e.g. GTP-binding proteins.
Eurofins Medigenomix in Ebersberg, Germany, is the competence center for genetic analyses of the Eurofins Pharma Services Group and supports pharmaceutical drug development with a comprehensive suite of services in pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics.
Pharmacogenomics is the whole genome application of pharmacogenetics, which examines single gene interactions with drugs. These services include DNA/RNA extraction e.g. for DNA biobanking, genotyping, assay development and validation, transcriptome analysis and whole genome sequencing.
In 2010, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & C0. KG and Eurofins Medigenomix concluded a long-term service agreement in the area of DNA biobanking, as well as for pharmacogenetic and genomic services. Many thousands of blood samples are processed annually at Eurofins Medigenomix using a fully automated DNA extraction process.
DNA samples are stored in Boehringer Ingelheim’s central DNA bank. Equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technology platforms, Eurofins Medigenomix offers all tools to keep up with the personalised medicine revolution and can support pharma companies in the development of biomarkers and companion diagnostics.
Contact: pharmacogenetics@medigenomix.de
