New study emphasizes the importance of metabolomics to the advent of personalized medicine

International experts have collaborated on a comprehensive collection of reviews focusing on the emerging interface between metabolomics and pharmacogenomics.

The report, written by some of the worlds’ leading experts and published in the latest issue of Pharmacogenomics, examines all aspects of the current literature on metabolomics in relation to pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine, including advances in metabolomic profiling technologies, biomarkers, molecular phenotype analysis, data interpretation in preclinical and clinical arenas, and the identification of therapeutic targets and biomarkers of cancer.

The emergence of genomics and proteomics technologies has opened the door for the application of metabolic profiling to evaluate the relationship between health and disease, and to investigate drug efficacy and toxicity throughout all stages of the drug discovery process.

In the report, Laura Schnackenberg from the National Center for Toxicological Research at the Food and Drug Administration, USA, states, “Metabolomics is an integral component of the pharmacogenomics toolbox, especially as its ultimate goal is personalized health. The promise of metabolomics is that the metabolic profile contains information about the phenotype in addition to the genotype. Combined this information will allow a specific course of treatment to be defined that will have the potential for a successful outcome, thus making personalized healthcare a reality.”

Metabolomics refers to the measurement of the metabolite pool that exists within a cell, tissue or organism under a given set of conditions. These unique chemical fingerprints can give an instantaneous snapshot of the physiology of a cell and help explain the mechanisms of biochemical and regulatory pathways, and specific cell responses that change in relation to the onset of disease or following exposure to toxins.

Pharmacogenomics is the study of genetic variation on drug response and aims to optimize drug therapy, with respect to the patients' genotype, to ensure maximum efficacy with minimal adverse effects. Advances in pharmacogenomics promise the advent of personalized medicine, in which drugs and drug combinations are optimized for each individual's unique genetic makeup.

The full collection includes five reviews and an editorial and is available for purchase for £95.00. For more information or to place an order please contact [email protected].

http://www.future-drugs.com and http://www.futuremedicine.com