SmithKline Beecham's chief scientific officer, George Poste, speaks of pharmacogenomics as the savior of the industry.

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The antidepressant gene test failed in trials, and Clinical Data sold the pharmacogenomics business.

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That research was led by Prof Colin Palmer, chair of Pharmacogenomics at the University of Dundee.

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Kirk still believes that pharmacogenomics will work but says it is progressing at a much slower pace than drugs.

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But it does provide a proof of concept for using genes to predict if drugs work, an idea called pharmacogenomics.

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It is very large and very complex, and yet you do get a sense that pharmacogenomics might have a role.

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But pharmacogenomics is based on replacing the blockbuster model with one that concentrates on a larger number of narrower products -- a drug, say, that benefits only 10% of arthritis sufferers.

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Their way may be made easier by novel drug-development technologies, such as pharmacogenomics, and new marketing methods, such as e-commerce, which will allow them to sell tailored drugs without the trappings of size.

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If pharmacogenomics can help to recruit those patients who should respond to the drug and rule out those who will have adverse reactions, it will rescue useful remedies that would otherwise have been discarded.

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Pharmacogenomics promises custom drugs.

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