DNAprint Genomics (DNAG)

[frogdreaming]

ice, Good point.

>>The real benfit to pharmacogenomics will be the reduction in side effects of medications and taylor made compounds to ones genetic profile.


The first manifestation of this benefit may well be the classifiers that will make today's crude drugs a little safer for those who may be susceptible to the side effects.

It is important to note that the technology that permits the development of the classifiers will also assist in the development of more advanced drugs that will not have dangerous side effects.

We are currently on the seemingly glacial cusp of a paradigm change in the development of new drugs. New compounds have been essentially developed via a hit and miss guessing game that tests drugs against an array of diseases and then weights the potential benefit of the compound against it's side effects to determine whether it is a viable treatment. (note; This is a generalization of the process that does not intend to demean the hard work and academic proficiency necessary to carry out the complexities of the task.) Such drugs lend themselves to the development of statistically based and equally crude classifiers. However, as the secrets of the genome unfold, new compounds will be derived that are specific to the diseases that they target. They will be biological 'smart bombs' that will kill only their target without harming any other systems. They will not have side effects and will not need classifiers.

The window of opportunity for drug classifiers will not be very wide. Especially as the first generation of targeted treatments are even now entering the approval process.

regards,
frog