Drugs Industry ‘Neglecting’ Research on Side-Effects

More than 1,000 patients a year die from the side-effects of medical drugs, despite the existence of genetic tests for patients that could reduce the toll. Patients prescribed drugs face a lottery in which their genetic make-up determines whether they benefit from the treatment or are harmed by side-effects. But, a report says, pharmaceutical companies are not interested in developing genetic tests, which would reduce sales. The Government and medical charities are also failing to invest in the necessary research. Launching a report on personalised medicines published by the Royal Society, Sir David Weatherall, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, said the NHS was expected to spend pounds 11bn on drugs in 2005-06. But up to 50 per cent of drugs may not work in the way intended.