Conclusions

While research in pharmacogenetics is proceeding rapidly, at the start of 2009 there were only just over a dozen pharmacogeneticsbased products on the market. A number of scientific, economic and regulatory challenges need to be overcome if pharmacogenetics is to be taken up more widely within health-care systems. It is not yet clear to the private sector what business models will deliver acceptable returns on investment. In the public sector, governments have a number of levers which they could use to create an “enabling” environment for pharmacogenetics, while continuing to provide the necessary checks and balances.