pharmacogenetics

noun

phar·​ma·​co·​ge·​net·​ics ˌfär-mə-kō-je-ˈne-tiks 

plural in form but singular in construction

: the study of how genetic differences among individuals cause varied responses to a drug

Examples of pharmacogenetics in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Wojcicki said the company will train Lemonaid doctors in how to integrate genetic risk reports and pharmacogenetics into care. —Fortune, 22 Oct. 2021

Researchers of pharmacogenetics — the science that studies how genetic factors affect reactions to drugs — stress that medicine could produce different results based on race and genetic, socioeconomic and environmental dynamics. —NBC News, 17 June 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

pharmacogenetics

noun, plural in form but singular in construction

phar·​ma·​co·​ge·​net·​ics -jə-ˈnet-iks 

: the study of how genetic differences among individuals cause varied responses to a drug

The major development that is helping to individualize therapy is the continuing advance of pharmacogenetics and its application to clinical problems.

—Marcus M. Reidenberg, The Journal of the American Medical Association

pharmacogenetic

-ik 

adjective

pharmacogenetic tests

pharmacogenetic variation