FDA okays genetic test for more personalized medicine

FDA okays genetic test for more personalized medicine

Personalized medicine has taken another step forward with the FDA's marketing approval of a genetic test that helps determine the correct dosage of certain drugs for individual patients, according to the FDA. The test, from Wisconsin-based Third Wave Technologies, detects variations in the gene UGT1A1, which affects how certain drugs are processed in the body and shows that people with different gene variations should receive different doses of the same drug. For example, the test was studied on a group of 66 patients receiving the drug irinotecan for colon cancer treatment. The study showed that people with one type of gene variation have a five times greater risk of irinotecan toxicity than other patients, says the FDA. The test, Invader UGT1A1 Molecular Assay, joins several other personalized medicine tools, including the Roche AmpliChip and the TRUGENE HIV-1 Genotyping Kit.