NHS patients could be offered DNA test to prevent side effects

Experts from the British Pharmacological Society and the Royal College of Physicians said a test for NHS patients could be finalised this year and rolled out through 2023.

Data has suggested that 90% of medicines may only work in 30% to 50% of people, while 6.5% of all hospital admissions are caused by adverse drug reactions.

The team said there can be enormous variation between people over whether a medicine works, causes serious side effects and what dose is needed.

Scientists have established a genetic cause for such variation for more than 40 medicines.

Around 6.5% of hospital admissions are caused by adverse reactions to drugs/treatments (PA) (Image: PA)

In one example, some people taking the common blood thinner clopidogrel lack the enzyme needed to convert its active substance and are therefore at higher risk of stroke.

Meanwhile, about 8% of the UK population also lack the gene which allows codeine to work properly, meaning they will not get any pain relief.

Professor Sir Mark Caulfield, from Queen Mary University of London and president-elect of the British Pharmacological Society, said there was a need to “usher in an era of prevention” as he discussed panel testing – a genomic test that looks at a curated set of genes known to be associated with the development of certain conditions.

He said these tests cost about £100 to £150, adding: “A panel test may look at 40 genes, and experts read those regions of the genome very deeply.”

Experts use these tests to look for the specific variations that cause harm or ineffectiveness and they are already used in the NHS for some cancer treatments.

Adopting panel testing for medicines reactions could take the form of a blood or saliva test, possibly via a GP, he added.