NHS should integrate testing patients for genetic variations

A new report has argued that testing patients for genetic variations that affect how their body will respond to common medicines must be integrated fully, fairly and swiftly into the NHS.

The Royal College of Physicians and the British Pharmacological Society paper explains how a type of testing, known as pharmacogenomic testing, should be deployed across the NHS to ensure all patients have an equal chance of being prescribed a medicine at a dose that is likely to be safe and effective for them, with minimal side effects.

At present, here can be enormous variation from person to person in whether a medicine works, whether it causes serious side effects and what dose is needed. Scientists have established a genetic cause for such variation for over 40 medicines.

Some pharmacogenomic tests are already available in the NHS, such as abacavir, which is used to treat HIV, but for most of these 40 medicines tests are not available in the NHS. These include commonly prescribed medicines, including painkillers, beta blockers and antidepressants.

The report gives a series of recommendations to help deploy pharmacogenomic testing in GP surgeries, hospitals and clinics across the UK. These include: central funding through the relevant commissioning processes in all four nations to avoid a postcode lottery that could exacerbate inequalities; education and training; and a pharmacogenomics advisory service for doctors.

Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chair of the report’s working party, said: “A small number of pharmacogenomic tests are available in the NHS, but this needs to be expanded. The UK is a world leader in genomic medicine, and the implementation of a wider range of pharmacogenomic tests would further demonstrate UK leadership.

“Today we are calling on government and the health service to ensure that patients across the UK are offered these tests where there is evidence to show their utility. For patients, this will mean the medicines they take are more likely to work and be safer. In the 21st century, we need to move away from the paradigm of ‘one drug and one dose fits all’ to a more personalised approach where patients are given the right drug at the right dose to improve the effectiveness and safety of medicines.”