Pharmacogenetics is a rapidly growing field of interest encompassing genetic variation in genes encoding drug transporters, drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug targets, as well as genes related to the action of drugs. The terms pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics tend to be used interchangeably, and a precise, consensus definition of either remains elusive. Pharmacogenetics refers to genetic differences in metabolic pathways which can affect individual responses to drugs, both in terms of therapeutic effect as well as adverse effects, while pharmacogenomics is the broader application of genomic technologies to new drug discovery and further characterization of older drugs. The present review summarizes about importance of pharmacogenetics to variability in drug response and role of pharmacogenetics in drug development and predicting drug-drug interactions. However, by extrapolation from the past 25 years of experience in the field of pharmacogenetics/genomics will lead to new important insights and discoveries that will ultimately lead to the development of new and better drugs and to the rational use of drugs that are already on the market.
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