‘Good implementation of pharmacogenomic markers will optimise the use of medicines and improve health outcomes’.
Arantxa Sancho, director of the Department of Medical-Scientific Affairs at Farmaindustria, participates in the informative seminar on pharmacogenomic biomarkers organised by the Aemps.
Farmaindustria.es
On 29 July, the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps) launched the first European and Spanish-language database of pharmacogenomic biomarkers in medicines datasheets.
This initiative is a compilation of the genetic information included in the technical data sheets of medicines with the aim of enabling rapid and agile consultation by the agents involved in the health system. ‘The database is a further step towards facilitating the implementation of pharmacogenomics in the NHS, a tool to support individualised medical prescription that will help optimise the use of medicines and improve health outcomes,’ said Arantxa Sancho, Director of the Department of Medical-Scientific Affairs at Farmaindustria.
Sancho participated this Monday in the Information Day on pharmacogenomic biomarkers, organised by the Aemps to talk about the database, its structure, the criteria for its inclusion and its implementation, with the perspective of all the agents involved.
‘The important thing now is to take the step towards its correct implementation at the care level, ensuring that it is known by all health professionals involved and that it is universally and equitably available to all patients who need it,’ said Sancho.
Farmaindustria.es
The inclusion of pharmacogenomic biomarkers in the National Health System’s Portfolio of Common Services, Sancho stressed, ‘should prioritise those markers with a clear clinical utility, whose determination is critical for the proper use of the affected drug’. In the case of some of these drugs, the existence of a genetic test is mandatory for their prescription, so that the patient cannot access it if he or she does not have access to the test.
Sancho also focused on the importance of a multidisciplinary approach and early adoption: ‘This implementation must be done by establishing well-classified access routes, with a multidisciplinary approach and through an early dialogue that allows health managers to make the necessary adjustments to ensure that the pharmacogenomic study is available at the time when the drug in question is actually marketed’.
During the talk, Farmaindustria’s Director of Medical-Scientific Affairs stressed the importance of measuring the health outcomes of the interventions that are implemented and of contemplating a joint updating plan, as this is a dynamic field in constant change.
Sancho debated at the round table on ‘Clinical implementation of pharmacogenetics in the National Health System: Perspective of the agents involved‘ together with Enrique Gamero de Luna, coordinator of the Semergen Working Group on Personalised Genomic Medicine and Rare Diseases; Pedro Carrascal, director general of the Platform of Patients’ Organisations (POP); Raquel Yotti, PERTE commissioner for Vanguard Health, moderated by Adrián Llerena, director of the Extremadura University Institute for Biosanitary Research (INUBE) of the Extremadura Health Service.
In addition to members of the Aemps, representatives of different national and international interest groups participated in the conference.
