This marks Medco’s latest step in developing "personalized medicine," in which treatment is tailored to a patient's genetic makeup, bringing the potential to reduce the unnecessary use of drugs, says a Medco spokesperson.
Medco will help the FDA assess obstacles to the use of existing genetic tests as they relate to the prescribing of medicines, as well as new opportunities for such tests. Initial areas of study may focus on oncology and HIV/AIDS.
"The big-picture goal is to facilitate the uptake of appropriate pharmacogenetic testing in the marketplace," said Medco Chief Medical Officer Robert Epstein. "It can't really happen if you don't have good information about both the science but also the practice of medicine."
Such use of genetic testing "should take trial and error out" of prescribing and "make people feel more confidence in the drugs they're being placed on because they know for them personally that drug should work," Dr. Epstein said.
Medco seeks to lower drug spending for its clients, which include health plans and large employers, and sees pharmacogenomics as a potential way to control costs and improve quality of care.
Medco’s other research collaborations include one with the Mayo Clinic studying the use of the blood thinner warfarin, and a partnership with Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings to study the use of tamoxifen, a breast cancer treatment.