Bioinformatics and Pharmacogenomics in Drug Discovery and Development- a Socio-economic Perspective

Abstract

A plethora of genomic and proteomic information was uncovered by the U.S Human Genome Project (HGP) – mostly by means of bioinformatics tools and techniques. Despite the impact that bioinformatics and pharmacogenomics were projected to have in the drug discovery and development process, the challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry, such as the high cost and the slow pace of drug development, appear to persist. Socio-economic barriers exist that mitigate the full integration of bioinformatics and pharmacogenomics into the drug discovery and development process, hence limiting the desired and expected effects.