The alliance will focus on large genomic studies of drug response from many drug classes, including those targeting cancer, asthma, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The goal of the alliance is to identify genetic markers that determine both therapeutic and adverse drug responses in multiple racial and ethnic populations. These markers can eventually be used to guide drug therapy.

"This research requires analysis of vast amounts of data that can only be tackled through collaborative efforts among scientists and clinicians in many institutions," Giacomini said. "The global alliance will enable us to bring together the best and brightest in this field, from around Japan and the U.S., to achieve the goals of personalized medicines."

The new awards include 14 scientific research projects and seven network resources, and build upon a decade of work in this area funded by the NIH. Spearheaded by the NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) and launched in 2000, the PGRN already has identified gene variants linked to medication response for different cancers, heart disease, asthma, nicotine addiction and other conditions.

The expanded network will continue research in these areas and move into new ones, including rheumatoid arthritis and bipolar disorder. Network scientists also will develop novel research methods and study the use of pharmacogenetics in rural and underserved populations.

The funds will benefit scientists by offering deep DNA sequencing capacity by partnering with experts in the field; providing statistical analysis expertise; developing standardized terminology for pharmacogenomics research; piloting ways to learn about pharmacogenomics from de-identified medical records; and continuing and expanding a 2-year-old international collaboration with the Center for Genomic Medicine at the RIKEN Institute in Yokohama, Japan.

Source: University of California - San Francisco