Table 1. The GWAS potential.

GWAS^* can reveal new therapeutic targets for complex diseases (8, 56, 57).

Disease	Total GWAS hits†	GWAS hits associated with marketed drugs‡	GWAS hits associated with drug effects§
Type 2 diabetes	44	6	8
Hyperlipidemia	39	2	10
Multiple sclerosis	36	5	2
Psoriasis	24	4	1

^*Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) assume no knowledge of disease pathogenesis and provide a comprehensive approach to the discovery of common genetic risk factors. Many known drug targets and associated pathways appear on the list of GWAS hits for common diseases, suggesting that other GWAS hits likely represent “druggable” targets worthy of further investigation.

^†Genetic variants strongly linked to disease susceptibility.

^‡Genetic variants that are primary targets of drugs currently marketed for the listed indication.

^§Genetic variants associated with cellular, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, or clinical variations in response to one or more drugs currently marketed for the listed indication.