UK awards £4million for pharmacogenetic screening research and development:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The UK's Department of Health today announced six pharmacogenetics research projects that will receive grants totalling £4m ($7.4m). One of the topics being funded from the £50m national genetics strategy is universal pre-surgery screening for predisposition to the potentially fatal malignant hyperthermia, as a reaction to a commonly used general anaesthetic. The other projects are on tests to assess the risk of adverse reactions to drug therapies, including: dosification of anthracyclines (cancer drug), which can cause severe heart damage; patient response to epilepsy drugs and anti-clotting agents; susceptibility to liver injury from penicillin and anti-turberculosis medicines; potential adverse reactions to inflammatory disease treatments.