Pharmacogenomics (PGx) is the study of genetic variability affecting an individual’s response to a drug. Clinical application of pharmacogenomics knowledge will result in less ‘trial and error’ prescribing and more efficacious, safer and cost-effective drug therapy. However, despite the major advances in PGx and several commercially available PGx tests, its application in routine patient care remains very limited.
The U-PGx consortium will address major challenges and obstacles for implementation of PGx testing in patient care, taking into account the diversity of healthcare systems and citizens across Europe. Specifically, U-PGx will investigate if the emerging approach of pre-emptive genotyping of an entire panel of important PGx markers is cost-effective and results in a better outcome for patients. With the pre-emptive PGx testing approach data on multiple important pharmacogenes are collected prospectively and embedded into the patients’ electronic record. Typically, it alerts prescribers and pharmacists through electronic clinical decision support systems when a drug is ordered or dispensed for a patient with an at-risk genotype. The new model of personalised medicine through pre-emptive PGx-testing will be conducted at a large scale in seven existing European health care environments (Greece, The Netherlands, Spain, UK, Italy, Austria, Slovenia).
