Pharmaco-genomics:The SearchforIndividualizedTherapies

Edited by Julio Licinioand Ma-Li Wong, Wiley, 2002, Price €74.30,600 pages in hardback, ISBN 3-527-30380-4

Coincident with the publication of thenucleotide sequence of the humangenome and advances in sequencingand genotyping technologies, theemerging field of pharmacogenomicshas received significant attention. Thisattention has come from scientistsengaged in the discovery anddevelopment of therapeutics, physiciansdedicated to treating individual patientsand, increasingly, from a treatmentconscious public. As such, a book aboutthis rapidly evolving field, which sets outthe current thinking on its use andapplications in the creation of newmedicines, is timely and welcome.

Pharmacogenomics: The Search forIndividualized Therapies is composed ofchapters written by some of the world’sleading academic and corporate experts.It provides a timely overview of the field,applications both achieved and hopedfor, and challenges for application in thereal world of clinical practice. It is writtenprimarily to scientists and students so it isno surprise that it is compiled much likea course textbook, beginning withintroductory chapters covering thehistory, current state and future potentialof pharmacogenomics. The format ishelpful, each chapter beginning with anabstract and ending with a summary ofconclusions and a comprehensivereference list. Because the last two thirdsof the book are dedicated to exploringthe pharmacogenomics of specific classesof therapeutics, diseases or conditions,the references provide a valuable

compilation for the scientist interested ina particular therapeutic area.

As noted, the first third of the book focuses broadly on the state andfuture of pharmacogenomics. Many ofthese chapters attempt to definepharmacogenomics and to distinguish itfrom the older term, pharmacogenetics.The reader looking for consensus herewill be disappointed and will find manyconflicting and overlapping perspectives.As the editors state in their preface,these contradictory and repetitiveparagraphs are intentionally leftunedited to present the author’sindividual opinions. Although difficult for the reader, it accurately representsthe current state of the developing field.Interesting, in his chapter The Role ofPharmacogenetics in Drug Discovery andTherapeutics, Klaus Lindpaintner makes a compelling presentation of what hebelieves is an emerging consensus onthe differences between the two termsand their use.

The broad opening chapter on the promise and limitations ofpharmacogenomics is one that mostreaders who are familiar with the fieldwill find a recapitulation of thenumerous articles already written on thesubject. Each of the subsequent chapterscomprising the introductory third of thebook focus on the history and outcomesof sequencing the human genome, itsrelevance to discovering and establishingthe clinical validity of pharmacogenomicmarkers, their roles in understanding theaction of drugs, and how they might beapplied in the pharmaceutical processesof drug design and development. Thesefirst seven chapters provide the readerwith a good review of the variousstrategies employed to discoverpharmacogenomic markers, validatetheir use through appropriately designedand powered association studies, andthe current thinking on their applicationin drug research and development.

The remainder of the book explores thestate of knowledge of pharmacogenomics

in specific classes of drug targets,transporters, therapeutic agents anddisease states. These chapters are wellresearched and written by leadingexperts in the field. They provide usefulreviews of how genetics is beingemployed in specific therapeutic areasand, taken together, indicate those areasthat are most likely to benefit soon froma genetic approach. Although much, ifnot all, of the same information can be found in journals specific to therespective field, it is useful to have themreferenced in specific chapters and tohave the commentary and perspectiveof the various expert authors.

In attempting to review thestate-of-the-art of an emerging andrapidly changing field, the editors canonly provide ‘a snapshot in time’ ofpharmacogenomics: it could soon beout-dated. However, the book does anexcellent job of compiling a currentpicture of an important and compellingfield of medical research.

Ronald NortonVP, OperationsDNA Sciences

3500 Paramount ParkwayMorrisville, NC 27560, USA

e-mail: rnorton@dna.com

DDT Vol. 7, No. 21 November 2002 updatebook review

1359-6446/02/$ – see front matter ©2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S1359-6446(02)02401-7 1085www.drugdiscoverytoday.com

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