The doctor is in
1 min read
As part of a £1.2million project part funded by the Technology Strategy board, Imperial College London and its spinout company DNA Electronics have developed a prototype healthcare device that assesses whether patients are genetically predisposed to adverse reactions to prescription drugs.
They are now carrying out trials to test its effectiveness, following a partnership with pharmaceutical company Pfizer.
Each year, 250,000 patients are admitted to hospital suffering adverse reactions to prescribed medication, costing the NHS £460m. Reactions vary from dizziness and nausea to heart palpitations or unconsciousness.
A test to identify those likely to react badly to prescribed medication such as anti depressants or drugs to lower cholesterol could enable doctors to tailor dosages and drugs to the needs of each patient.
The device is called the Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Doctor (SNP Dr, pronounced ‘snip doctor’). The portable technology gives fast, accurate spot test results for specific DNA sequences that indicate how we are likely to respond to certain drugs.
SNP Dr works by analysing genetic variations found in DNA called Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs). SNPs are the parts of human DNA that make us all respond differently to disease, bacteria, viruses, toxins or medication.
SNP Dr works by analysing the DNA in saliva or cheek swab samples, which are placed in a cartridge and exposed to silicon chip sensors inside the device. A copy of the fast or slow metabolic SNPs is contained in the chip. If they detect a match, a message is displayed on the SNP Dr’s console. A GP can then assess the patient in their surgery, without a lengthy and costly laboratory analysis, and prescribe dosages and treatments accordingly.
Professor Chris Toumazou, principal investigator at Imperial, said:
“Nothing can replace the expert advice your GP gives you. However, SNP Dr could provide another layer in the treatment process that could help GPs to personalise treatments according to the genetic requirements of each patient.”
Dr Leila Shepherd, DNA Electronics’ chief technology officer, added that the introduction of SNP Dr into the GP surgery could also pave the way for new types of drugs to reach patients in the future. “At the moment, some cancer fighting drugs are deemed uneconomical because they only work for a certain subset of patients. If doctors had a method of screening patients to see whether these drugs work, then these therapies would be more cost effective to use.”
