Pharmacogenomics News and Research

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The terms pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics are often used interchangeably to describe a field of research focused on how genes affect individual responses to medicines. Whether a medicine works well for you—or whether it causes serious side effects—depends, to a certain extent, on your genes.

PharmaMar begins phase II 'Basket' trial to evaluate safety, efficacy of PM1183 in advanced solid tumors

PharmaMar announced today the start of a multicenter, international, open-label, exploratory phase II "Basket" trial (NCT02454972) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the anticancer agent PM1183 (lurbinectedin) in advanced solid tumors.

18 Sep 2015

Genetics and race influence patients' response to anticancer drug treatments

A new study published in Pharmacogenomics suggests that a person's response to anticancer drug treatments is strongly related to their genetic ancestry. Pharmacogenomics is published by Future Science Group.

14 Sep 2015

SKA2 gene may play a role in development of PTSD

A gene linked in previous research, appears to predict more severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms as well as a thinner cortex in regions of the brain critical for regulating strong emotions and coping with stressful experiences. This study is believed to be the first to show that the spindle and kinetochore-associated complex subunit 2 (SKA2) gene may play a role in the development of PTSD.

2 Sep 2015

Stanford University launches new professional education course

Imagine a world where health care is personalized, diseases are treated or even prevented before they become debilitating, and doctor's visits include regular reviews of individual genetic profiles. These are just some of the possibilities at the intersection of healthcare and genomics.

24 Aug 2015

Moffitt researchers analyze participation rate of patients in pharmacogenomic trials

Cancer therapy has evolved from a "one-size-fits-all" type of treatment plan to a personalized approach based on a patient's type of cancer, the protein and genetic markers found in their tumors and their response to therapy. Important aspects of the personalized approach are pharmacogenomic studies that analyze associations between genetic variations and patient drug responses.

29 Jul 2015

Drug addiction expert uncovers molecular mechanisms that contribute to addiction resistance

Growing up in West Virginia, Jill Turner saw firsthand the kind of havoc that drug addiction can wreak. "I had a lot of friends who had very promising lives and promising careers ahead of them," the assistant professor in the South Carolina College of Pharmacy says, "but they ended up either overdosing or going to jail for drug-related stuff. It's one of the reasons I went into drug addiction research."

22 Jul 2015

Vanderbilt receives $12.8 million federal grant to develop better ways to predict effects of drugs in patients

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a five-year, $12.8 million grant from the federal government to develop better ways to predict how patients will respond to the drugs they're given.

10 Jul 2015

Penn study suggests future precision medicine approach to treating diabetes, other metabolic disorders

In the first study of its kind, Penn researchers have shown how an anti-diabetic drug can have variable effects depending on small natural differences in DNA sequence between individuals. Mitchell Lazar, MD, PhD, Raymond Soccio, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, aim to apply this knowledge to develop personalized approaches to treating diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

3 Jul 2015

DTC genetic testing has negative consequences in children

A woman coping with the burden of familial breast cancer can't help but wonder if her young daughter will suffer the same fate. Has she inherited the same disease-causing mutation? Is it best to be prepared for the future, or to wait? During the last decade, genetic tests have been through a sea change, both in their availability and the technologies behind them. Today there are at least 34 companies that offer direct to consumer (DTC) DNA testing, some of which return health results. And now it is possible to sequence someone's entire genetic code for the price of a laptop.

3 Jul 2015

7th Annual Personalized & Precision Medicine Conference to be held in Baltimore from Oct. 5 to 6, 2015

Arrowhead's 7th Annual Personalized & Precision Medicine Conference is coming to Baltimore, MD on October 5-6, 2015 as an official satellite event to the American Society for Human Genetics Annual Meeting.

30 Jun 2015

Future Cardiology’s special issue focuses on recent advances, challenges in cardiology

In recognition of 10 years of publication Future Cardiology has launched a special issue focused on recent advances and emerging challenges in specific areas of cardiology.

17 Jun 2015

Substantial pharmacogenetic information available on cardiovascular drugs

There is a wealth of published information describing interactions between drugs used to treat cardiovascular disease and the genetic variations that can affect how patients respond to them. But few heart specialists make routine use of this potentially life-saving data.

2 Jun 2015

Study quantifies different mutational profiles of tumour cell clusters in patients with bowel cancer

Bowel cancer is often driven by mutations in one of several different genes, and a patient can have a cancer with a different genetic make-up to another patient's cancer. Identifying the molecular alterations involved in each patient's cancer enables doctors to choose drugs that best target specific alterations.

19 May 2015

Agena Bioscience releases LungFUSION Panel to identify gene fusions in NSCLC tumors

Agena Bioscience today released the LungFUSION Panel for rapid and sensitive identification of oncogenic ALK, RET, and ROS1 gene fusions in non-small cell lung cancer tumors.

25 Mar 2015

UF pharmacy dean to be honored with 2015 SURA Distinguished Scientist Award

SURA today announced that Julie A. Johnson, Dean and Distinguished Professor at the University of Florida's College of Pharmacy, will receive its 2015 SURA Distinguished Scientist Award.

20 Mar 2015

GeneSight test better predicts antidepressant outcomes for patients with depression

The combinatorial, multi-gene GeneSight test has been found to better predict antidepressant treatment outcomes for patients with depression, and their use of health care resources, than any of the individual genes that comprise the test, according to a peer-reviewed analysis by investigators from the Mayo Clinic and Assurex Health, and published online by The Pharmacogenomics Journal.

5 Mar 2015

Researchers identify first genetic variation linked to increased risk of peripheral neuropathy

Researchers have identified the first genetic variation that is associated with increased risk and severity of peripheral neuropathy following treatment with a widely used anti-cancer drug. Investigators also found evidence of how it may be possible to protect young leukemia patients without jeopardizing cures.

24 Feb 2015

Agena releases MassARRAY 24-Well System for mass spectrometry-based genetic testing

Agena Bioscience today released the MassARRAY 24-Well System for mass spectrometry-based genetic analysis, adding to its existing MassARRAY portfolio. The new 24-well format is tailored to smaller clinical testing laboratories requiring modest sample throughput, reduced initial hardware costs, and reduced time to result.

24 Feb 2015

Personalized prevention, treatments of cancer now accessible through Stanford University's new genetics course

Instrumental research that aims to enhance how we predict, diagnose and design personalized prevention and treatments of cancer is now accessible through Stanford University's latest professional education course, Understanding Cancer at the Genetic Level.

9 Feb 2015

Two genetic mutations can interact to reduce risk for heart attack

Researchers have determined that two mutations on a single gene can interact in a way that lowers the carrier's risk for a heart attack.

4 Feb 2015