Pharmacometabolomic signatures as individualised biochemical response evidence: towards a precision jurisprudence framework for forensic toxicology and criminal responsibility
- 1Department of Research and Publication, Kampala International University , ,
- 2Department of Law and Jurisprudence, School of Law, Kampala International University , ,
Abstract
Precision medicine is transforming drug response from a population level assumption into an individualised biochemical event. Pharmacometabolomics, which profiles metabolic signatures associated with drug exposure and response, offers a mechanistic basis for explaining interindividual variability in therapeutic efficacy, adverse drug reactions, neurocognitive impairment and toxicological ambiguity. Legal systems, however, continue to evaluate drug related conduct largely through conventional toxicology, generalised impairment thresholds and binary assumptions about intent, voluntariness and negligence. This Perspective proposes individualised biochemical response evidence, described here metaphorically as an emerging category of biochemical legal identity, as a prospective research and governance framework rather than a validated evidentiary standard. Its primary focus is forensic toxicology and criminal responsibility, with medical negligence, product liability, AI guided prescribing, pharmaceutical regulation and biochemical privacy discussed as secondary implications requiring separate validation. The claim is not that metabolomic profiles are currently capable of establishing individual causation, voluntariness or capacity, but that a disciplined evidentiary pathway, moving from biological plausibility through analytical validity, clinical validity and forensic validity to legal admissibility, would be required before such evidence could inform these determinations. A precision jurisprudence framework is proposed to guide this transition while preserving safeguards against biochemical determinism, privacy intrusion and algorithmic opacity.
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BibTeX
@article{ugwu2026pharmacometabolomic,
title = {{Pharmacometabolomic signatures as individualised biochemical response evidence: towards a precision jurisprudence framework for forensic toxicology and criminal responsibility}},
author = {Okechukwu Paul-Chima Ugwu and Maria Edet Umo and Richard Akpanke Akwagiobe and Akor Innocent Ondale},
journal = {Frontiers in pharmacology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fphar.2026.1881604},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13669172},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pharmacometabolomic signatures as individualised biochemical response evidence: towards a precision jurisprudence framework for forensic toxicology and criminal responsibility
AU - Okechukwu Paul-Chima Ugwu
AU - Maria Edet Umo
AU - Richard Akpanke Akwagiobe
AU - Akor Innocent Ondale
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Frontiers in pharmacology
DO - 10.3389/fphar.2026.1881604
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13669172
AB - Precision medicine is transforming drug response from a population level assumption into an individualised biochemical event. Pharmacometabolomics, which profiles metabolic signatures associated with drug exposure and response, offers a mechanistic basis for explaining interindividual variability in therapeutic efficacy, adverse drug reactions, neurocognitive impairment and toxicological ambiguity. Legal systems, however, continue to evaluate drug related conduct largely through conventional toxicology, generalised impairment thresholds and binary assumptions about intent, voluntariness and negligence. This Perspective proposes individualised biochemical response evidence, described here metaphorically as an emerging category of biochemical legal identity, as a prospective research and governance framework rather than a validated evidentiary standard. Its primary focus is forensic toxicology and criminal responsibility, with medical negligence, product liability, AI guided prescribing, pharmaceutical regulation and biochemical privacy discussed as secondary implications requiring separate validation. The claim is not that metabolomic profiles are currently capable of establishing individual causation, voluntariness or capacity, but that a disciplined evidentiary pathway, moving from biological plausibility through analytical validity, clinical validity and forensic validity to legal admissibility, would be required before such evidence could inform these determinations. A precision jurisprudence framework is proposed to guide this transition while preserving safeguards against biochemical determinism, privacy intrusion and algorithmic opacity.
SN - 1663-9812
ER -