Science to practice
Latest highlights on drug safety and efficacy

18.11.2024

At least one actionable pharmacogenetic mutation is present in 97-99% of population (1,2). More than half had three or more mutations (2). Drugs that are affected by these variants had been prescribed to 31-37% of these patients (1,2), two prescriptions to 25% of patients, and three prescriptions to 12% of patients during follow-up (2).

Many commonly used drugs are pharmacogenetically sensitive. Ten most frequently prescribed drugs were simvastatin, tramadol, ondansetron, codeine, citalopram, clopidogrel, allopurinol, warfarin, amitriptyline and paroxetine (2). A substantial number of patients are exposed to drugs for which they carry potentially problematic variants leading to adverse effects or inefficacy of the drug.

Explore Medbase’s dedicated pharmacogenetic database, Pgxbase, for more information on the impact of genetic variants on drug safety and efficacy.

A substantial number of patients are exposed to drugs for which they carry potentially problematic variants leading to adverse effects or inefficacy of the drug.

News produced by Medbase Medical Team

References

1. Chanfreau-Coffinier C, Hull LE, Lynch JA, et al. Projected Prevalence of Actionable Pharmacogenetic Variants and Level A Drugs Prescribed Among US Veterans Health Administration Pharmacy Users. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(6):e195345. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.5345).
2. Hodel F, De Min MB, Thorball CW, Redin C, Vollenweider P, Girardin F, Fellay J. Prevalence of actionable pharmacogenetic variants and high-risk drug prescriptions: A Swiss hospital-based cohort study. Clin Transl Sci. 2024 Sep;17(9):e70009. doi: 10.1111/cts.70009. PMID: 39263940; PMCID: PMC11391267.