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Pharmacogenetics and geographical ancestry: implications for drug development and global health

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 6, pages 241–246 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Understanding and harnessing genomic variation will contribute significantly to improving the health of people in developing countries. We need to explore the nexus between pharmacogenetics, genotyping projects in developing countries, and the evolution of the pharmaceutical industry in both the developed and developing worlds. Here, we argue that, for the foreseeable future, we should focus not on boutique 'personalized' medicine, but on carefully defined differences between populations and ethical ways of using emerging genomics knowledge to develop drugs and improve health.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Stephen W. Scherer of the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto; Charles Scriver of McGill University, Montreal; and Adrian Ivinson of the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair, for reading the manuscript and making suggestions for improvement; and Nadia A. Daar for her help in preparing the manuscript. The Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health is supported by Genome Canada through the Ontario Genomics Institute, and by the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund, and other funders listed at the Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, 88 College Street, Toronto, M5G 1L4, Ontario, Canada

    Abdallah S. Daar & Peter A. Singer

  2. McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine, 620 University Avenue, Toronto, M5G 2C1, Canada

    Abdallah S. Daar & Peter A. Singer

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  1. Abdallah S. Daar
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Correspondence to Abdallah S. Daar.

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FURTHER INFORMATION

Canadian Program on Genetics and Global Health

Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiation

Food and Drug Administration

Genome Institute of Singapore

Grand Challenges in Global Health

Human Genome Organization (HUGO) Pacific

Institute of Genomic Medicine (Mexico)

Institute for OneWorld Health

International HapMap project

International Multiple Sclerosis Genetic Consortium

Medicines for Malaria Venture

The Story of Mectizan

World Health Organization

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Daar, A., Singer, P. Pharmacogenetics and geographical ancestry: implications for drug development and global health. Nat Rev Genet 6, 241–246 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg1559

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