Abstract
Pharmacogenomics should lead to the more effective and safer use of drugs and better healthcare for patients and should also be linked to more efficient drug development. However, there are almost no examples of the practical applications of pharmacogenomics to date. We investigated the attitude to pharmacogenomics among healthcare professionals, industries, regulators and researchers by a wide-ranging analysis of the published results of questionnaire surveys on this subject in Japan. In the past 5 years, the expectations from, and interest in, pharmacogenomics has been high in all areas; however, the understanding in medical practice and society as a whole has not made progress and practical development in the near future is anticipated to be difficult. The most important concern in the use of pharmacogenomics is the leakage of genetic information, and it is essential to take measures to protect this information in the practical development of pharmacogenomics.