PHARMACOGENOMICS (PGx)

 

Pharmacogenetics is the study of inherited genetic differences in drug metabolic pathways (and other pharmacological principles, like enzymes, messengers and receptors) which can affect individual responses to drugs, both in terms of therapeutic effect as well as adverse effects. The term pharmacogenetics is often used interchangeably with the term pharmacogenomics which also investigates the role of acquired and inherited genetic differences in relation to drug response and drug behaviour through a systematic examination of genes, gene products, and inter- and intra-individual variation in gene expression and function.