Research Projects
SEAPharm
Research Overview
Differences in the population-specific recommendations of the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC®) guidelines for drugs metabolized by CYP2C19
For racemic citalopram or S-isomer escitalopram, a higher proportion of patients in Western populations require alternative drugs or dose escalation due to the prevalence of CYP2C19 ultrarapid metabolizers. Conversely, among Asians, as indicated by the blue bars, a larger proportion of patients require dose reduction. Similar patterns are observed for clopidogrel, proton pump inhibitors, and voriconazole, reflecting differences in genetic diversity between populations. GR: Greeks, HD: Europeans, UA: UAE nationals, YRI: Nigerians, CHB: Chinese, JP: Japanese, ID: Indonesians, LA: Laotians, MN: Myanmar nationals, MY: Malaysians, PH: Filipinos, TH: Thais, VT: Vietnamese.
RIKEN established the Southeast Asian Pharmacogenomics Research Network (SEAPharm) in 2012 in collaboration with five Asian countries (Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand). Since then, its membership has steadily expanded to include Singapore, Vietnam, Nepal, Laos, the Philippines, Brunei, and Myanmar. SEAPharm aims to advance safer and more effective drug therapy by utilizing pharmacogenomic (PGx) biomarkers associated with drug responses, including drug efficacy and adverse drug reactions.
As part of the SEAPharm project, we are constructing a PGx database based on genomic information from 2,998 individuals across 13 populations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, using a targeted next generation sequencing panel, “PKseq” developed by RIKEN. This year, we systematically compared therapeutic interventions for 58 clinically important drugs using this genomic data. For the antidepressant citalopram/escitalopram, the proportion for whom a change from standard treatment was recommended was 63% for Japanese individuals, 37% for Indonesians, and 75% for Nigerians. This demonstrates that optimal treatment strategies differ across populations, providing a useful foundation for the international social implementation of precision medicine based on pharmacogenetic testing.