Personalized medicine in context: social science perspectives

In the 1990s, the scientific and popular press heralded the emergence of a new paradigm in drug discovery and development called pharmacogenomics (pgmx). As well as capturing the interest of scientists, policymakers and journalists, the field of personalized medicine has also been of immense interest to social scientists who research new innovations in health and biomedicine. This article reviews existing social science research on pgmx. It considers work on mapping industry involvement in pgmx; the dynamics of clinical adoption and the challenges of pgmx testing becoming a standard healthcare service; and patient and public perspectives on pgmx. In conclusion, the article reflects on the future research agenda.