Pharmacogenomics in resource limited setting, Thailand.

Why should be HIV pharmacogenomics?
Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is a major factor contributing to the interruption of Antiretroviral drug (ARV) intake in HIV-1 infected patients. ARV non-adherence results in viral drug resistance, which derails ARV effectiveness and causes higher costs for complicated treatment regimens. The costlier second-line treatment regimens (2-9 times higher in price than first-line regimens) are unaffordable for individual or government agencies in developing countries.
This situation forms the development of a pharmacogenomics initiative in Thailand, with special focus on HIV.

The first target is to improve the prescription algorithm by personalizing the initial drug regimen; increasing the regimens efficacy; and simultaneously avoiding ADR.

The ultimate aim of this initiative is to minimize the cost of antiretroviral therapy for the public health system by incorporating research findings (“from bench to bedside”). Integrating our POC (point-of-care) HIV-1 pharmacogenetic screening tests and device into Thailand’s universal health-care system is a major challenge for the future and, if successfully implemented, they will eventually benefit both individuals and society.


Video Interviews:

Part one: From bench
Part two: To bedside (point-of-care device)

(Sorry, it is in Thai. English subtitle will soon be added)

ViRusRama

A Nonprofit, laboratory core facility offers various molecular diagnostics screening tests for pathogenic viruses ranging from real-time PCR to next generation sequencing.

Mission: To save life, improve quality of life, and reduce medical spending on antiviral drugs by using state-of-the-art molecular technology and bioinformatics.

Since  antiretroviral drugs have  various  efficacy and  side-effect profiles among individuals, therefore our unit have also involve in development of pharmacogenetic screening test based on genomic predictive markers obtained from Genome-wide association studies, exome, and whole genome re-sequencing including  bioinformatics interpretation tools

Contact: Wasun Chantratita, Ph.D.
Professor in Clinical Pathology 
Chief of Virology Unit
Ramathibodi hospital, Mahidol University
Bangkok 10400, Thailand

E-mail:wasun.cha@mahidol.ac.th
Telephone: 66-2-201-1470
Fax: 66-2-201-2115



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HIV-1 Pharmacogenomics in resource limited setting, Thailand

Pyrosequencing for antiviral susceptibility testing

Voice of America (VOA): July24 2010

When H1N1, or swine flu, hit Thailand last year, the government at first restricted the use of antiviral drugs, worried that indiscriminate use would help the virus build drug resistance.

Dr. Wasun Chantratita studied hundreds of Thailand's 2009 influenza cases. He worries about resistance in H1N1 influenza, because it was deadlier than the 2008 seasonal flu.