Pharmacogenomics in the age of personalized medicine

The aim of personalized medicine is to offer the right treatment to the right person at the right dose, thus maximizing efficacy and minimizing toxicity for each individual patient. Pharmacogenomic approaches attempt to refine the aim of personalized medicine by utilizing an individual's germline and somatic DNA signatures to guide treatment. In this review, we highlight the current use of pharmacogenomic based biomarker information in drug labeling. We also present several case studies on the implementation of pharmacogenomic strategies in drug discovery and development. Lastly, we comment on current challenges to implementing pharmacogenomic based testing in the clinic.