The role of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics in improving translational medicine.

The approval of new medicines has slowed significantly over the past years. In order to accelerate the development of new compounds, novel approaches in drug development are required. Translational medicine or research, an emerging discipline on the frontier of basic science and medical practice, has the potential to enhance the speed and efficiency of the drug development process through the utilization of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics. Pharmacogenetics is the study of genetic causes of individual variations in drug response whereas pharmacogenomics deals with the simultaneous impact of multiple mutations in the genome that may determine the patient's response to drug therapy. The utilization of these methods in the drug development process may therefore identify patient sub-populations that exhibit more effective responses and/or an improved benefit/risk profile upon treatment. The authors provide examples of the use of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics in the fields of cardiovascular, pulmonary, oncological, and bone diseases and also highlight the potential economic value of their development.