The effectiveness of drugs, their harmful effects and the suitable dosage depend to some extent on people's genotype. The Finnish company Jurilab has developed a genotyping test for clinical trials carried out on patients. In the near future the test will be able to show which medicine is best for the patient.

Medicinal substances are excreted from human-beings' systems at different speeds. This is partly due to the individual structural differences in the genes controlling the enzymes that break down the drugs. The genotyping test can identify the most common and important structural differences.

Jurilab, which specializes in drug breakdown and excretion tests and predisposition tests, has developed the gene test in cooperation with the University of Kuopio and the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology at Stuttgart.

Right medication found more easily

The gene test on the market at this moment can determine how a person's metabolism works. It helps in finding the suitable dosage. The test can also examine whether the genetic profile is of significance to the effectiveness of a drug. In the future the intention is to use the test for more mundane purposes such as helping to find a suitable drug for the patient and suitable dosage immediately.

Jurilab is also developing a predisposition test for myocardial infarction. "If a person has high blood pressure or high cholesterol, he or she is already in a risk group. In the test it is a question of how much the genetic background affects the predisposition to illness before these symptoms. When the reason for an illness is known, it's easier to find the right medication, says Nora Kaarela, Vice President, Business Development, at Jurilab.

In general use in five years

Kaarela says that people's metabolism and genetic profile also contribute to how well he or she benefits from drugs and tolerates them. This is important because in the USA alone some 120,000 people die from the harmful effects of drugs every year.

Although the technology for the tests is ready, it will be years before the use of the genotype test will be common practice at health centres or hospitals. Some experts say the testing will be widespread in five years' time when gene diagnostics will be better. Technology that is sufficiently simple and user-friendly will also be needed.

For the developers of drugs genotype tests are providing new dimensions. Development work on new drugs can be speeded up by years with the new technology. At its best, the tests will be producing precision drugs for the market.

>> www.jurilab.com

The core of the user-friendly, quick test is a microchip that can be used to test dozens of samples at one time.