Report

Attitudes towards genetic testing to predict medicine response

A nationally representative survey on public attitudes towards genetic testing to understand and personalise medicine response.

Pharmacist scanning barcode of medicine drug in a pharmacy.

Authors:
Curtis Jessop Marta Mezzanzanica Chujan Sivathasan
Aisha Chabdu

Georgie Morton

Mary-Clare Ridge
Publishing date:

20 February 2025

About the study

Differences in the genetic makeup of a person can influence how they respond to medication. Some medications do not work as well for people with certain genetic variations, and in other cases can lead to serious side effects. Pharmacogenomics – which explores people’s genetic response to medication – is an increasingly important strand of personalised healthcare, however little is currently known about the public’s view on it.

In July 2024, we conducted a survey on behalf of Queen Mary University London (QMUL) using our probability-based NatCen Opinion Panel. The survey aimed to explore attitudes among the UK public towards genetic testing to predict medicine response, including public awareness on the relevant science as well as willingness to provide genetic information in return for more personalised treatment.

Findings

Nearly six in ten (59%) of the public reported experiencing no benefit from a medication or otherwise experiencing a side effect from one.
Almost nine in ten (89%) people agree that response to medication can vary from person to person.
However, only around half of the public think variations in genetics can be used to predict whether someone will benefit from a medicine (52%) or be at risk of a side effect (48%).
Around nine in ten (89%) stated they would be willing to do a genetic test in order to get more effective medication and reduce the risk of side effects.
Those who are currently prescribed medication are almost twice as likely to want to do a genetic test to predict their medicine response.
85% of people think that the NHS should offer pharmacogenomic testing to people with multiple health conditions, while 58% think that the NHS should offer this testing to everyone.
Levels of public concern about the potential misuse of pharmacogenomic data are similar to those seen for other medical data.
91% of people want access to their own pharmacogenomic data – 78% want this data to be made available via the NHS app.

Methodology

Fieldwork period, sample, mode

Fieldwork for this study was conducted using the NatCen Opinion Panel – a random-probability panel of people recruited from high-quality, random probability studies such as the British Social Attitudes survey. The data was collected between 5th July and 4th August 2024 using a sequential mixed mode design (web and telephone).