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Personalized medicine may help drugs work better

Most pharmaceuticals only work for about half the people who take them. Why? Because our DNA can inhibit them from functioning in our bodies. Personalized medicine –matching individual genes with appropriate pharmaceuticals — might offer a solution.

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Most pharmaceutical drugs only work for about half the people who take them. Why? Because our DNA can inhibit them from functioning in our bodies. But personalized medicine — in which each person’s individual genes are matched with appropriate pharmaceuticals — might offer a solution. Joining The Takeaway to explain more is Andrew Pollack, a reporter for the New York Times and author of today’s front page story on the topic.