A pharmacogeneticist’s look at drug effects and the drug development process: an overview

This paper describes the functional roles of the closely related pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic sciences in medicine. Firstly, they provide means for a better understanding of the function of drugs, and particularly of the differences of drug action between individuals and also between racially categorised populations. Secondly, they are repeatedly used during the long process of new drug development; the developer needs several patient contacts. The development starts with target identification and ends with an official permission for medical use of a drug.