UK babies may be genetically screened/Gene Chip Brings Tailored Medicine Nearer

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UK babies may be genetically screened

 

FT.com

http://66.242.35.139/news/item.php?keyid=4796 & page=2 & category=1

 

June 25, 2003

 

UK babies may be genetically screened

 

By David Firn

Published: June 24 2003

 

Every child born in the UK could be genetically screened and the data stored

to plan their future healthcare under government proposals for a massive

expansion of genetic testing.

 

 

John Reid, the new Secretary of State for Health, said the UK was on the

threshold of a revolution in healthcare. " Increasing understanding of

genetics will bring more accurate diagnosis, more personalised prediction of

risk, new gene-based drugs and therapies and better targeted prevention and

treatment, " he said.

 

The controversial proposal for testing newborn babies was announced in a

White Paper that promised £50m to expand the ability of the NHS to cope with

the rapid advance in genetic testing. It is likely to be studied by the

Human Genetics Commission, the government advisory group, as well as the

National Screening Committee before firm proposals are made on what diseases

would be tested for.

 

Dr Reid promised to make Down´s syndrome testing available to every pregnant

woman, not just those over 37, by the end of 2005. He also unveiled plans to

fund more research into genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis and cancer

and set up facilities to make gene therapy treatments for the NHS.

 

Up to £18m will be injected into upgrading the NHS genetics laboratory

facilities in England. Other funds would be used to bring genetics into

mainstream medicine.

 

The proposals were welcomed by medical researchers, but opponents of genetic

testing said they raised the prospect of a world where imperfection was

illegal and a " genetic underclass " was unable to obtain health insurance,

jobs and mortgages.

 

Mark Walport, director of the Wellcome Trust, which funded the UK

contribution to the Human Genome Project, said effort was crucial if Britain

was to exploit the genome " We are delighted that the government is making

such a large financial commitment to translating human genome information

into real health care benefits. This effort complements our own continuing

investment in genome research and in projects like the UK Biobank, which are

of crucial importance if we are to exploit this knowledge for the public

good, " he said.

 

Josephine Quintavalle of ProLife Alliance said the plans amounted to a

blueprint for weeding out physical imperfection. " We have to be very

careful. We don´t have enough money to treat all the diseases we know about,

so who is going to get it? Inevitably it will be the healthy child. "

 

The TUC called for safeguards to stop test results falling into the wrong

hands. " Some employers might be tempted to use DNA records as a recruitment

tool, and rule out employing any candidates whose profiles didn´t make the

grade. "

 

Dr Reid admitted there were " very real ethical and social concerns "

surrounding genetic advances but pledged safeguards . He promised to make it

a criminal offence to test a person´s DNA without their consent. In addition

to an existing moratorium onthe use of genetic test results by insurance

companies, he said the government would consult with experts on whether

widespread testing would lead to discrimination.

 

Gene Chip Brings Tailored Medicine Nearer

 

Reuters

 

 

June 26, 2003

http://66.242.35.139/news/item.php?keyid=4817 & page=2 & category=1

Gene Chip Brings Tailored Medicine Nearer

 

Wed Jun 25,2003

 

By Ben Hirschler

 

LONDON (Reuters) - The era of personalized medicine came a step closer

Wednesday with the launch of the world´s first " gene chip " for testing how

people will react to drugs.

 

 

 

Today´s medicines are a hit-and-miss affair. Drugs can produce adverse

reactions in one person but have no effect at all on another.

 

 

But Switzerland´s Roche Holding, the world´s largest diagnostics company,

hopes to remove the guesswork with a test that looks at variations in two

genes that help determine how people react to drugs for common illnesses

such as depression, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.

 

 

" At first it will be used by reference labs, " said a Roche spokesman.

 

 

Following expected approval by U.S. and European regulatory authorities it

will be available in other laboratories that have special equipment to read

gene chips.

 

 

Some 10 percent of Caucasians and 20 percent of Asian populations metabolize

drugs poorly, while a smaller proportion of people are ultra-fast

metabolizers.

 

 

Both groups are at risk if given standard doses. Poor metabolizers -- whose

bodies retain medicines longer than normal -- are more likely to suffer

adverse reactions, and those who process medications quickly are in danger

of not receiving enough drug.

 

 

The Roche test looks for variations in genes known as CYP2D6 and CYP2C19.

 

 

" There is an increasing awareness of the important role these genes play in

metabolizing an estimated 20 to 25 percent of drugs already on the market, "

said Greg Heath, head of Roche Molecular Diagnostics clinical genomics

business.

 

 

He added that targeting the use of these drugs could improve their

therapeutic value and reduce health care costs.

 

 

Adverse drug reactions cause an estimated 100,000 deaths each year in the

United States alone and are the fifth-leading cause of death.

 

 

Roche estimates 25 million people worldwide could benefit from pre-testing

before they are given drugs.

 

 

The new test, which is being launched first in the United States with Europe

set to follow at the end of the year, marks the latest advance in the small

but growing field of personalized medicine, or pharmacogenomics.

 

 

It involves studying a person´s genetic make-up to predict how they will

react to a drug and whether they will benefit from the treatment.

 

 

Called AmpliChip CYP450, it will initially cost $350 to $400 per test. The

test was developed with technology licensed from U.S.-based Affymetrix Inc.

 

 

A gene chip, or microarray, is a thumbnail-sized glass plate containing

fragments of DNA that can be used to screen tens of thousands of individual

DNA pieces for certain genes.