Genetics at GSK Scientists at GlaxoSmithKline are working to understand the genetic basis of common diseases in order to discover and develop new medicines to prevent or treat them. The results of genetic research will help researchers discover and develop safer and more effective medicines with greater speed and efficiency than in the past and may enable health care providers to predict patients' responses to medicines before they take them. Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics We use pharmacogenetics (the relationship between genetic variation and drug response) and pharmacogenomics (the study of the genome and its products - RNA and proteins - as related to an individual's response to medicines) to discover and develop new medicines and better understand and predict patient response to medicines. The results of this research can benefit patients and health care providers in several ways: Identification of susceptibility genes related to specific diseases will allow health care providers to predict more accurately an individual's risk of developing a specific disease. With this information, it may be possible to prevent or delay onset of the disease or to diagnose it and begin treatment more promptly if it occurs. Increased understanding of the underlying genetic and biochemical causes of disease may lead to the development of more accurate ways of diagnosing disease. Many conditions we now think of as one disease may have several distinct sub-types, stemming from different specific causes (we already know this to be true of hypertension and asthma, for example). Better diagnosis will contribute to more effective treatment. The use of genomic techniques in target identification and progression may result in the more rapid and efficient discovery and development of new medicines that are safe, effective and aimed at the underlying mechanisms of disease. Clinical study design may be improved and streamlined and better informed, more timely decisions regarding project continuation/termination can be made. Medicine Response Tests may increase the confidence of health care providers in writing prescriptions, especially for medicines that are known to cause serious side effects in a significant number of people. It will be possible in many cases to screen patients for their likely response before starting treatment with a particular medicine. In some cases, it may be possible for a medicine that would have been withdrawn from the marketplace because of a serious side effect in a small number of people to stay on the market, thus helping the majority of people who can take it safely. Screening for known gene differences that affect drug metabolism may give health care providers the ability to adjust the dose of a medicine before prescribing it so that patients safely receive the most benefit from the medicines they use. USA GlaxoSmithKline Research & Development Five Moore Drive, 5.5615 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Tel. +1 919 483 2100 Fax +1 919 549 7459 Headquarters GlaxoSmithKline 980 Great West Rd. Brentford London TW8 9GS UK Tel. +44 (0)20 8047 5000 Fax +44 (0)20 8047 7807