Translating Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics: The Last 60 Years and the Rise of Collective Innovation as a Force Multiplier for Personalized Medicine

For more than 60 years, genetic variation had been recognized as an important determinant of inter-individual variability in drug efficacy and drug safety. Pharmacogenomics, studying the variations of DNA sequence and gene expression related to drug responses, is the whole genome application of pharmacogenetics. The aim of PGt/PGx is to elucidate functionally relevant genomic determinants for drug metabolism, transport and response in order to optimize drug therapy including therapy response prediction, appropriate drug selection and individualization based on the patient's genomic profile. This article describes and surveys the international landscape on recent PGt/PGx applications in clinical practice. A topline list of drugs in personalized medicine is highlighted together with the cutting edge initiatives such as the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium and the Dutch Pharmacogenetics Working Group. Keywords: Collective innovation, drug efficacy and safety, drug metabolizing enzyme, drug receptor, drug transporter, personalized medicine, pharmacogenetics, pharmacogenomics.