Reducing adverse drug reactions: focus group participants needed

Just as every person is unique, their reaction to medication will also be different.

Factors such as a person’s age, weight, medical issues and other prescribed medications can all influence a person’s reaction to medication. A person’s genetics can also have a significant impact on the effectiveness of specific medications.

This is where “pharmacogenetics” comes in.It studies how genetics can impact medication safety and effectiveness.

Health Innovation North West Coast are hosting a number of focus groups to better understand how pharmacogenetics can have a place in existing medication prescribing workflows to reduce adverse drug reactions, enhance treatment outcomes and lower healthcare costs.

PGXperts, a German pharmacogenetics innovator, have a comprehensive medication support tool, which may have a place in the UK.They have collaborated with healthcare professionals in Germany to develop the tool, which is currently used in 12 hospitals across Germany.

By introducing genetic testing into their prescribing pathway, doctors are supported via the tool to:

• avoid adverse drug reactions (drug:drug, drug:food, drug:gene)
• adjust dosage according to metaboliser status
• deliver personalised medication prescribing, which aims to improve health outcomes, quality of life and reduce healthcare costs.

Herna Munoz-Galeano, CEO and founder of PGXperts says, “Genetic research has made significant strides in recent years. We now know that each individual responds differently to medications. Everyone has the right to personalized medication that is tailored to their individual needs and genetic makeup.”

Kevin Moreton, Head of International Programmes at Health Innovation North West Coast, said: “We are excited to explore the transformational potential for this technology with PGXperts and UK health professionals. Pharmacogenetic testing could deliver real benefits across the NHS and we want to better understand how it can fit into our unique UK prescribing pathways – in all levels of care.”

There are two online focus groups health professionals can join:

• Primary care – for GP practices and community pharmacies
• Secondary care – for those involved in prescribing in acute hospital settings (pharmacists, oncology and psychiatry doctors, genomic laboratory staff)

We are also keen to gather the views of IT professionals from each setting to understand how the technology could be implemented.

The focus groups in October and November will take place online and last no longer than 90 minutes. Please fill out this short survey to register your interest.

More information

The NHS PROGRESS programme has an informative video summarising pharmacogenetics. You can also view this article and video on pharmacogenomics from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

PGXperts chose to partner with HINWC through EIT Health’s Bridgehead Programme. We are helping them understand the unique characteristics of the UK’s healthcare system and investigate the adoption potential of pharmacogenetic clinical decision support technology in this country. Visit our international webpage for more information.