Sciona demonstrates DNA test kit at UK pharmacy conference.

LONDON -- Pharmacists in the UK were treated to the first practical demonstration of how the billions spent on the Human Genome Project will change the way health care is delivered, at their annual conference last month.

Using his own DNA, Gareth Roberts, medical director of Sciona Ltd., a company specializing in personalized pharmacogenomics, demonstrated how an individual's DNA profile could be used to avoid adverse reactions and improve prescription of currently marketed drugs.

Sciona has developed a test kit it claims is the first working system for personalized medicine. From a cheek swab, it can test for 33 variations in 13 genes that affect the adsorption, …