Defining our lists of PGx information

With the increasing implementation of pharmacogenomics knowledge we are often asked "What is the difference between the CPIC gene list, VIP list and the Clinical Annotations list on PharmGKB?"

Here we clarify their contents:

VIP genes (purple layer of the PharmGKB Knowledge Pyramid)
This is a list of Very Important Pharmacogenes for which the PharmGKB curators have written a concise review about the gene from the published literature. These summaries are useful for research purposes and background knowledge. These are genes with a known role in the pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics of drugs but associations with VIP genes may not necessarily translate into therapeutic recommendations for the clinic. This list is added to as new VIP summaries are written and published, and VIP summaries are periodically reviewed and updated.

Clinical Annotations (blue layer of the PharmGKB Knowledge Pyramid)
The PharmGKB Clinical Annotations cover the full spectrum of pharmacogenetic associations between a particular genetic variant and a drug, from low levels of evidence (e.g. in vitro assays only) to those that are implemented in the clinic. The likely drug response is outlined for each genotype of the genetic variant. Clinical Annotations below Level 1A may not yet be clinically actionable.

CPIC Gene-Drug Pairs (top green layer of the PharmGKB Knowledge Pyramid)
This is a list of gene and drug combinations for which consensus genotype-based therapeutic recommendations for clinical practice can be made. CPIC guidelines are only written for pharmacogenetic associations that are clinically actionable. This list is updated as new CPIC guidelines are published or new suggestions for important gene-drug pairs are discussed by the CPIC group. Read more about CPIC and view the published CPIC genotype-based dosing guidelines.

Read more in the Overview of the PharmGKB
Read the recent PharmGKB publication