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Developing research collaborations, between academia, healthcare, industry, regulators and patients
The UK Pharmacogenetics & Stratified Medicine Network (UKPGx) is a network for academics, clinicians and people from the industrial and regulatory sectors, which promotes the use of stratified/personalised medicine in the clinic, to offer patients the most appropriate and safe drug, at the optimal dose, at the start of their treatment. As of August 2023, the UKPGx Network is managed by the British Pharmacological Society.
Join the Network
Join the UKPGx Network for free. We invite everyone working or studying in fields related to pharmacogenetics and stratified medicine to get involved.
Definitions
'Pharmacogenetics'
'Pharmacogenetics' (sometimes known as 'PGx' or 'pharmacogenomics'*) is research into how an individual person’s genes affect their response to a particular medication. This research aims to improve drug development, efficiency and patient safety.
*Technically, there is a difference between 'pharmacogenetics' (which refers to studying an individual's single gene variation) and 'pharmacogenomics' (which refers to studying all of an individual's genes), however, the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.
'Stratified medicine'
'Stratified medicine' (otherwise known as 'personalised', 'precision', or 'P4' medicine) uses specialised diagnostic tests to group patients according to their disease subtype to determine the most appropriate treatment. It is also used to predict the risk of disease and then offer preventative treatment, or suggest lifestyle changes, to minimise the effects of disease.
Key Publications
Personalised Prescribing – Using pharmacogenomics to improve patient outcomes
A report from the British Pharmacological Society and the Royal College of Physicians, published 28 March 2022, calls for pharmacogenomic testing to be integrated fully, fairly and swiftly into the NHS.
Genome UK: shared commitments for UK-wide implementation 2022 to 2025
Published 18 March 2022 by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Department of Health and Social Care, Office for Life Sciences, Welsh Government, The Scottish Government, Department of Health (Northern Ireland), and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Precision medicine and genomics
Updated 1 December 2021 by the Life Sciences Organisation and Department for International Trade
Stratified Medicine
Published by the Academy of Medical Sciences
Working together to deliver stratified medicine research effectively
Published 7 February 2019 by the British Medical Bulletin
(S.G. Attar†, S.G. et al. British Medical Bulletin, 2019, 1–10 doi: 10.1093/bmb/ldz003)