ABSTRACT

Along with the emergence of genomics in the past two decades, pharmacogenomics has attracted much attention. The goal is often referred to as “personalized medicine,” that is, to provide the right drug, at the right dosage, to the right patient. Personalized medicine is propelled by the observation that genetics make a real contribution to drug response. Since its inception, pharmacogenomics has been viewed as the future of medicine and at the same time has become the topic of much controversy in the scientific community. While its enthusiasts await the promised revolution of pharmacogenomics [1], neither drug companies nor drug approval agencies have, as yet, made any giant leaps in replacing traditional toxicological studies with toxicogenomic approaches, as genomic approaches have not been rigorously validated [2]. Nevertheless, as is discussed in this chapter, there is evidence that there might be a realizable, albeit limited, scope in which pharmacogenomics could prevail.