DrugBank and its relevance to pharmacogenomics.

DrugBank is a freely available web-enabled database that combines detailed drug data with comprehensive drug-target and drug-action information. It was specifically designed to facilitate in silico drug-target discovery, drug design, drug-metabolism prediction, drug-interaction prediction, and general pharmaceutical education. One of the most unique and useful components of the DrugBank database is the information it contains on drug metabolism, drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug-target polymorphisms. As pharmacogenomics is fundamentally concerned with the role of genes and genetic variation of how an individual responds to a drug, DrugBank is able to offer a convenient venue to explore pharmacogenomic questions in silico. This paper provides a brief overview on DrugBank and how it can facilitate pharmacogenomic research.