Adverse drug prevention prioritized under Emmer bill

U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) recently introduced bipartisan legislation that would update the National Action Plan for Adverse Drug Event Prevention to provide educational information on adverse drug events and testing in pharmacogenomics, the field of research that studies how people’s genes affect their responses to medications.

The Right Drug Dose Now Act, H.R. 6875, which Rep. Emmer cosponsored on Feb. 28 alongside bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who both co-chair the Personalized Medicine Caucus, also would improve electronic health records for pharmacogenomic information, according to the congressional record bill summary.

H.R. 6875 aims to enable the use of evidence-based pharmacogenomic testing to prevent adverse drug events and ensure that patients receive medications tailored to their genetic makeup, according to Rep. Emmer’s staff.

“For too long, patients and providers have been reliant on a test-and-see approach to prescribing pharmaceuticals,” Rep. Emmer said. “At best, this method is imprecise, and at worst, risks harmful patient outcomes. 

“Every person’s unique genetic make-up affects drug efficacy, absorption rate, dosage and as a result, patient safety,” added the congressman. “Pharmacogenomics gives providers the chance to fine-tune treatment and enables improved decision-making regarding prescription medications.”

If enacted, H.R. 6875 also would allocate additional funding to the Genomic Community Resources program at the National Institutes of Health to better integrate pharmacogenomic testing into patient care, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Emmer’s office.

The bill has garnered support from the Personalized Medicine Coalition, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, Invitae, the Association for Managed Care Pharmacy, the American Society of Pharmacovigilance, Genomind, OneOme, GenXys, Sanford Imagenetics, and the GTMRx Institute.