THE long-promised era of personalised medicine, when doctors will tailor treatments to match a particular patient鈥檚 genes, is beginning to dawn. A gene test that could help ensure people are not under or overdosed with many drugs was launched in the European Union last week.
鈥淎s far as I鈥檓 aware, this is the first commercial diagnostic test for personalised medicine,鈥� says Doris-Ann Williams, director of the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association. But she fears that at around 鈧�450 per test it will be an option only for wealthier patients.
The test, sold by Roche Diagnostics of Basle, Switzerland, is based on a DNA chip, or microarray. It reveals which variants people have of two liver genes, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6. These variants determine how fast a person鈥檚 liver breaks down almost a third of all drugs, including those used to treat disorders such as depression. If a drug is broken down too fast it will not work; too slowly and the patient can die of an overdose. The test has not yet been approved outside the EU.
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