Overview

Inter-individual variability in drug response is a well-known phenomenon, influenced by a combination of factors such as health status, drug-drug interactions, drug-food interactions, and genetics. Pharmacogenetics (PGx) focuses on genetic variations that affect drug efficacy and tolerability. By identifying specific genetic markers, PGx testing aims to optimize drug therapy by predicting treatment responses, to minimize adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and to improve treatment outcomes.

Over the past three decades, significant advancements have been made in understanding the genetic basis of drug responses. As a result, pharmaceutical companies increasingly include PGx information in drug labels and international organizations such as the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) and the Dutch Pharmacogenetics Working Group (DPWG) have established guidelines for PGx-guided drug selection and dosing. Despite this progress, PGx testing has not yet become an integral part of routine patient care.

Our research group is dedicated to closing this gap by investigating the clinical applicability of pharmacogenotyping and facilitating its implementation into pharmaceutical care. Through interdisciplinary collaborations, we aim to integrate PGx testing into real-world healthcare settings with the overall goal to ensure a safe and effective pharmacotherapy for every patient.

We are investigating how PGx information can be incorporated into pharmaceutical care alongside established endogenous and exogenous factors such as drug-drug interactions, health status, and patient adherence. Our research focuses on developing practical strategies to implement pharmacogenotyping in both inpatient and outpatient settings, ensuring that healthcare professionals can effectively utilize PGx testing to optimize patients’ pharmacotherapies over time. Our efforts to integrate pharmacogenotyping into clinical practice are strengthened by a close collaboration with the Biopharmacy and the Clinical Pharmacy & Pharmacoepidemiology Research Groups at the University of Basel. Together, we aim to:

• Establish a strong scientific and clinical evidence base for PGx testing
• Develop and validate new PGx biomarkers to predict interindividual drug responses
• Create standardized procedures for PGx testing in the in- and outpatient clinical practice, applicable for both adults and pediatric patients
• Assess the clinical utility of PGx testing across various patient populations, with a particular focus on individuals with psychiatric and mental disorders, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as disorders of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems
• Investigate the longitudinal impact of PGx information on therapy decisions and patient outcomes

• Pharmacogenetic Testing of Patients with Unwanted Adverse Drug Reactions or Therapy Failure  [ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04154553; EKNZ ID: 2019-01452] 
• Pharmacist Guided Pre-emptive Pharmacogenetic Testing in Antidepressant Therapy (PrePGx) [ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04507555; EKNZ ID: 2020-01535].
• Pharmacogenetic Panel Testing over time: a prospective longitudinal observational study [EKNZ ID: 2023-00157]
• Associations between (Pharmaco-) genetic Markers and Postoperative Inguinal Pain after Inguinal Hernia Repair [DRKS ID: 00034796, EKNZ ID: 2024-01080]