As we mourn the passing of Victor McKusick, “the father of medical genetics,” his legacy lives on in today’s healthcare headlines.
Today, as if in honor of the great man's passing, the FDA will announce an advisory for physicians to use a genetic test to screen patients before prescribing abacavir, a widely used drug for H.I.V. infection and AIDS.
(Abacavir, developed by GlaxoSmithKline, is sold under the name Ziagen. It is also a component of two combination pills — Trizivir and Epzicom.)
According to Andrew Pollack in today’s New York Times, “The recommendation for the test is part of a movement toward so-called personalized medicine, in which genetic or other tests are used to determine which drugs are best for a patient and which should be avoided.”
Here is the complete New York Times story
Let’s honor Dr. McKusick by fully funding the Reagan/Udall Foundation and advancing the agenda of the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative.
Today, as if in honor of the great man's passing, the FDA will announce an advisory for physicians to use a genetic test to screen patients before prescribing abacavir, a widely used drug for H.I.V. infection and AIDS.
(Abacavir, developed by GlaxoSmithKline, is sold under the name Ziagen. It is also a component of two combination pills — Trizivir and Epzicom.)
According to Andrew Pollack in today’s New York Times, “The recommendation for the test is part of a movement toward so-called personalized medicine, in which genetic or other tests are used to determine which drugs are best for a patient and which should be avoided.”
Here is the complete New York Times story
Let’s honor Dr. McKusick by fully funding the Reagan/Udall Foundation and advancing the agenda of the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative.
