Skin pigmentation may act as a “sponge” for some medications, potentially influencing the speed with which active drugs reach their intended targets, a pair of scientists report in a
The researchers hope to activate the pharmaceutical industry and academia to start doing systematic experimental evaluations in preclinical research in relation to skin pigmentation and drug kinetics.
They also encourage patients, their advocacy groups, and clinical trial participants to ask questions related to ancestry-specific drug efficacy and safety, such as, “Has this drug been tested to see if it’s safe for people from different ancestral backgrounds, including mine?”
Clinicians and pharmaceutical representatives should be able to provide an easy-to-understand document outlining the results of the various tests, the researchers said.
They acknowledge that in the current state of drug development this will be hard.
Zaaijer said: “In terms of risk profile testing, drugs are most often tested on one or a few human cell models that mostly come from donors of Northern European descent.
“Drugs are then tested in a rodent model. If these tests are successful, drug companies push the drug through to clinical trials.
“But are drugs ready to be given to a diverse patient group if they haven’t first been tested, for example, on human cell models of different ancestries?
“Would you bungee jump off a bridge if you know the ropes have not been tested for your weight category?
“Unlikely. So why is this currently acceptable with drugs?”
Groen explained that in different ancestral backgrounds certain genetic variants are more prevalent.
Those variants can affect how a drug is metabolised and how it behaves in a body, he said.
The researcher said: “If different ancestral backgrounds are taken into consideration in the early stages of drug discovery, then diverse groups of people may have more trust in the drug development process and enrol in clinical trials because they will be better informed of any potential associated risks.”
