Precision medicine in drug safety

Over the past two decades, our understanding of genetic heritability has been derived from candidate gene and genome-wide studies looking at common allelic variant associations. As our access to advanced genomics technologies increases, so too does the availability of pharmacogenomic data for predicting the risk of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). We now have the ability to look at the contribution of rare and even personal genomic variants on ADR risk. However, the increase in data will be accompanied by challenges in interpretation and implementation. This review looks at the current position of drug safety pharmacogenomics and discusses the challenges, as well as some possible future directions.