Pharmacogenetics in the Laboratory and the Clinic

One of the most striking features of modern medicines is how often they fail to work. Even when they do work, they are often associated with serious adverse reactions. Indeed, adverse reactions to drugs rank as one of the leading causes of death and illness in the developed world.1 How can we improve the success rate?The Human Genome Project and other advances have generated expectations that medicines can be customized to match the genetic makeup of patients, thereby dramatically improving efficacy and safety. These issues are examined in two review articles in this issue of the Journal.2, . . .