Wouldn’t it be helpful to know if a medication was going to work before you took it?
With pharmacogenomics,
now you can!
Ever wonder why some medications work better — or worse — for you than for a family member or friend? The answer often lies in pharmacogenomics!
Pharmacogenomics (PGx) is the study of a person’s DNA or genes to identify changes that will affect how their bodies process medications. A medication that helps one person may be harmful or ineffective for another, just based on the smallest difference in their genes.
Why Do People Respond Differently to Certain Medications?
Medications don’t work the same for everyone. Things like your age, body size, health conditions, other medications, diet, and lifestyle all play a part. Your genes matter too – a lot!—because some of them play a role in how your body processes medications. If there are changes in one of these genes, your body might break down a medication too quickly, too slowly, or sometimes not at all. If your genes change how a medication works in your body, the treatment could be less effective or cause more side effects.
Just as genes help determine our eye or hair color, they also play a role in how each person’s body responds to specific medications. Certain genes help break down and process medications. Changes (also called “variants”) in one of these genes can make your body process a medication in different ways.
If a medication is broken down too quickly, the amount in a person’s body may be too low for it to work well. If it breaks down too slowly, the amount in a person’s body could build up, causing an uncomfortable side effect. On rare occasions, certain changes in these genes can cause a serious reaction. If your healthcare provider is aware of these changes in your DNA, you can be given the right medication or right dose that will work the best for you with the fewest side effects.
No function
Your body may be unable to process the drug
Poor metabolizer (poor function)
Your body may process the drug very slowly
Intermediate metabolizer
Your body may
process the drug slowly
Normal function
Your body should process the drug normally
Rapid metabolizer (increased function)
Your body may process the drug quickly
Ultrarapid metabolizer
Your body may process the drug very quickly
Uncertain
Your body’s expected response to the
drug is unclear
Does PGx Testing Benefit You?
Improve efficacy
Your providers can select medications that are more likely to work well for you.
Reduce adverse side effects
Your providers can know in advance to avoid selecting a potentially harmful medication, or medications that shouldn’t be taken together, which reduces your chance for unwanted side effects.
Select the best dose
Your providers can determine how much and how often to take a medication to avoid ineffective underdosing or toxic overdosing.
What Does This Mean for You?
Quicker path to the right treatment
Fewer trips to the doctor for medication changes
Confidence that your medication is right for you
Protection from medicines that may cause harm
We Make Your Data Privacy Our Top Priority
Genetic data is sensitive information. At InformedDNA, we understand this and
set your privacy and data protection as our number one priority.
- We will NEVER disclose any genetic or personal data to employers, insurance companies, public databases, or third-party marketers without your explicit consent — you have complete control over how your information is used and who it is shared with.
- We maintain a robust data security program, adhering to strict industry data protection standards. All sensitive information is encrypted, and regular assessments are conducted to detect and address security vulnerabilities and threats.
- We do not divulge individual-level personal information to law enforcement unless compelled by a court order, subpoena, search warrant, or other legally valid requests. Your privacy is our commitment.
For more information on your rights and our responsibilities regarding your private health information, please read our Notice of Privacy.
Pharmacogenomics: Credibility by the Numbers
Notable Milestones in Pharmacogenomics Discovery and Evolution
Early knowledge of genes and medicine connected to become the
study of pharmacogenomics — a safe tool for better medication management!
510 BC
1962
1980s - 1990s
2003
2004
2006
2007
2009
2010
Learn more about this free program, DNAimpactRx, that can provide medication insights throughout your lifetime.
- Van Driest SL, Shi Y, Bowton EA, et al. Clinically actionable genotypes among 10,000 patients with preemptive pharmacogenomic testing. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2014 Apr;95(4):423-31.
- Hodel F, De Min MB, Thorball CW, et al. Prevalence of actionable pharmacogenetic variants and high-risk drug prescriptions: A Swiss hospital-based cohort study. Clin Transl Sci.
2024 Sep;17(9):e70009. doi: 10.1111/cts.70009. PMID: 39263940; PMCID: PMC11391267. - Bush WS, Crosslin DR, Owusu-Obeng A, et al. Genetic variation among 82 pharmacogenes: The PGRNseq data from the eMERGE network. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2016 Aug;100(2):160-9. doi: 10.1002/cpt.350. Epub 2016 Jun 1. PMID: 26857349; PMCID: PMC5010878.
- Auwerx C, Sadler MC, Reymond A, et al. From pharmacogenetics to pharmaco-omics: Milestones and future directions. HGG Ad Brixner D, Biltaji E, Bress A, Unni S, Ye X, Mamiya T, et al. The effect of pharmacogenetic profiling with a clinical decision support tool on healthcare resource utilization and estimated costs in the elderly exposed to polypharmacy. J Med Econ. 2016;19:213–28.
- Schildcrout JS, Denny JC, Bowton E, et al. Optimizing drug outcomes through pharmacogenetics: a case for preemptive genotyping. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2012 Aug;92(2):235-42. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2012.66. Epub 2012 Jun 27. PMID: 22739144; PMCID: PMC3785311.
