What is PharmGKB?
First time? Consider first taking a short guided clicking tour(opens in new window) through PharmGKB to get a feel for the website, and then quickly reading about how to search PharmGKB(opens in new window).
PharmGKB also has training exercises available to help new users find their way around the website. Note that these exercises are not to be used for credit, including professional development such as CME.
Download training exercises(opens in new window)Curated Pathways
Curated pathways are evidence-based diagrams of how a medication is metabolized in your body, how a medication works in the body, or both. Pathways diagrams are also accompanied by a written description.
PharmGKB pathways focus on either the pharmacokinetics(opens in new window) or pharmacodynamics(opens in new window) of a drug(opens in new window), and depict the key candidate pharmacogenes that code for the proteins(opens in new window) involved in these processes. Most pathways are interactive, allowing users to access more information by clicking on the objects in the pathway. In progress pathways provide the preliminary underlying reactions, genes, metabolites and evidence in a machine readable format but have not yet been developed for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Connections on a pathway are supported by literature evidence, which can be viewed on the pathway page. Pathways are typically created in collaboration with experts in the field. They are available for download in multiple formats, including as a PDF file. In addition to being provided on the PharmGKB website, pathways are normally published in the journal Pharmacogenetics and Genomics.