Drug Safety
POPi aims to improve adverse drug reaction (ADR) surveillance, particularly in children, and is using predictive pharmacogenomics to avert serious and life-threatening adverse drug reactions. Within the scope of this theme, we also provide expertise in pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacovigilance, active surveillance, and population therapeutics.
Current programme of research:
Canadian Pharmacogenomic Network for Drug Safety (CPNDS)
Synopsis: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) rank as the fifth leading cause of death in the western world. The nature and scope of these ADRs in children are not predictable based on post market surveillance reports that rely heavily on adult drug experience. The project co-leaders, Dr. Bruce Carleton and Dr. Michael Hayden, have assembled a trans-disciplinary consortium of nationally and internationally recognized experts from hospitals, universities, research institutes, children’s advocacy groups and Health Canada to i) monitor for adverse events in the clinical setting and ii) conduct single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery and genotyping analysis. This network named the Genotypic Approaches to Therapy in Childhood (GATC): Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety (GATC:CPNDS) capitalizes on existing resources to identify SNPs that confer an ADR risk and conduct deep re-sequencing efforts. The initial surveillance site was established in September 2005, with 10 sites fully operational by 2008. As of June 2010, 3,525 ADR cases and 28,753 matched controls have been enrolled. Relevant biomarkers for three serious ADRs have been identified: anthracycline associated heart failure, cisplatin induced deafness and maternal codeine use and infant death. Ongoing studies include vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy, drug-induced Stevens Johnson syndrome, and others.
Click here for publications related to drug safety.
Translational Programme for Applied health
Synopsis: The goals of this research are to identify causal genetic variants of severe adverse drug reactions (ADR) and develop a diagnostic test that will offer clinical recommendations to reduce the incidence of ADRs in the paediatric community. The scientific approach involves the high-throughput comparison of genetic profiles from patients who have and have not suffered an ADR and are matched for medication type and age. The project co-leaders, Dr. Bruce Carleton and Dr. Michael Hayden, have assembled a trans-disciplinary consortium of nationally and internationally recognized experts from hospitals, universities, research institutes, children’s advocacy groups and Health Canada to i) monitor for adverse events in the clinical setting and ii) conduct single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery and genotyping analysis. This network named the Genotypic Approaches to Therapy in Childhood (GATC): Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety (GATC:CPNDS) capitalizes on existing resources to identify SNPs that confer an ADR risk and conduct deep re-sequencing efforts.
Read about it: coming soon!
Innovative Research Leading to Optimal Outcomes
