The Ethical, Legal and Regulatory Issues Associated with Pharmacogenomics: Systematically Quantifying the Literature

Abstract

Since the human genome was successfully mapped much academic attention has been given to ethical, legal and regulatory issues associated with the integration and application of genomics in health care. In line with the recent political commitment to promoting precision medicine that relies heavily on “omic knowledge”, it is timely to review the issues that this body of literature has addressed. Focusing on “pharmacogenomics”, this review quantifies the issues identified in this body of academic work. It reveals that, after nearly two decades, interest in the regulatory and legal issues associated with pharmacogenomics continues to generate significant attention. The ethical issues, while not as predominant, also persist. The analyses highlights that there is a dearth of empirical research exploring the impact that these issues have had.