Port Coquitlam's Wilson Pharmacy is participating in a groundbreaking study that could change the way medicines are prescribed.
The study, the first of its kind in North America, will collect saliva samples from people who take warfarin for a process of DNA sequencing that will enable health care providers to determine the most effective dose of the commonly-prescribed blood-thinning drug for each heart patient.
Ajit Johal, a pharmacist at the family-owned business, said the goal is to eliminate side effects for patients while the year-long study will establish some standards and procedures for doing this kind of personalized medicine.
"Just being part of the future of medicine is what our patients would like to contribute," said Johal, who said he heard about the study through the BC Pharmacy Association (BCPhA) and decided to get on board because of the difference it could make to the delivery of health care.
The pharmacy sees many patients who are on warfarin and 20 are needed locally for the study; they will be asked for informed consent and then provide a saliva sample that will be DNA sequenced at UBC.
"I see it as leading to very targeted therapy, I see it as a positive step for pharmacies," Johal said, noting that pharmacies are among the most frequently visited health care institutions and pharmacists have an opportunity develop ongoing, supportive relationships with patients.
The study is also good news for patients on warfarin because people who take it often struggle with getting the right dosage. Dr. Corey Nislow, who is the lead researcher for the project, said the study will link information that is already known about warfarin and DNA sequencing to determine if patients are fast, slow or non-metabolizers to better gauge the dosage.
"The reason for doing this is really straightforward: Instead of the trial and error that everyone has experienced, you get the right dose, the effective dose."
Nislow said this is just the first phase of the study, with future phases to target more people and different drugs. Anti-depressants are another category of drugs that are sensitive to individual metabolism and, with DNA sequencing, Nislow said, they could also be better prescribed. In fact, as many as 150 drugs could be prescribed in this way.
"The nice thing about the study, it's simple, it's common sense, it's really a matter of putting the pieces together of several really exciting advances in life sciences in and putting them into practice."
The Genomics for Precision Drug Therapy in the Community Pharmacy is a joint project of the BCPhA, and Genome B.C. with the research done by a team at UBC's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. In all, 22 pharmacies in B.C. are participating, four in Metro Vancouver, including Wilson Pharmacy.
