SNP Data Integration and Analysis for Drug- Response Biomarker Discovery
Chen Jieqi Pauline · 2009
Technological advances have given clinical researchers and pharmacists various methods to develop drugs targeted at various diseases. To maximize drug viability and profit, one of the greatest challenges for pharmaceuticals would be predicting the body’s response to prescribed drugs, and the underlying causes for variation between people with similar illnesses. The causes may range from a patient’s genetic makeup to dietary habits. Besides this, it is also an ongoing project to determine drug targets for each drug and maintaining this database. In our work, we focus on SNPs and how they affect drug response. In particular, we target ethnic diversity as an important aspect. We have developed a web-based bioinformatics tool that allows users to search for possible variations that may be significant in determining drug response without any genotype data. In addition, the tool is able to search for drugenzyme relationships and supplementing current incomplete databases. We see our development as a prototype for future development for use in the pharmaceutical industry in helping to determine viability of drugs for the Singapore community. Subject Descriptors: J.3 Life and Medical Science