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Pharmacogenomics and Children

Meeting the Ethical Challenges

  • Bioethics
  • Published:
American Journal of Pharmacogenomics

Abstract

Pharmacogenomic research promises to permit the development and delivery of safer and more effective drugs. If children are to receive these benefits, as justice would demand that they should, children must be included in trials that assess the impact of genetic variation, changing patterns of gene expression over time, and the effects of administering drugs. The ethical and legal challenges to conducting the necessary research include concerns about vulnerability and issues of consent, the scientific validity of the studies and the larger policy question of priority setting. Proposed strategies for ensuring the appropriate conduct of this research include analysis of the ethics based on risks and harms rather than presence or absence of a disorder, the development of model substrates to conduct physiological testing more safely, and the consideration of the disposition and impact of individual study results. With appropriate study, ultimately the use of pharmacogenomic testing can become available for children in the clinical setting.

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Acknowledgements

No sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this manuscript. The authors have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Center for Genetics and Health Policy, Vanderbilt University, 507 Light Hall, Nashville, Tennessee, 37232-0165, USA

    Carol L. Freund & Ellen W. Clayton

  2. School of Law, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    Ellen W. Clayton

Authors
  1. Carol L. Freund
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  2. Ellen W. Clayton
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Correspondence to Carol L. Freund.

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Freund, C.L., Clayton, E.W. Pharmacogenomics and Children. Am J Pharmacogenomics 3, 399–404 (2003). https://doi.org/10.2165/00129785-200303060-00007

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00129785-200303060-00007

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