Institutional authority references

What this page is and is not

Varia's current retained catalog covers 49 variants across 12 domains (full accepted list), but not every claim on those pages comes from Varia alone. Where an institutional framework already exists, Varia cites it directly instead of manufacturing a second authority layer. This page makes that authority chain visible.

It is not a list of experts, not a commercial affiliation page, and not a substitute for the Sources page. The Sources page is broader. This page is narrower and focuses on the institutional bodies that Varia routes to most directly.

Clinical Genome Resource

ClinGen is a clinical genomics authority that curates gene-disease validity and actionability frameworks. In VEGS, ClinGen is one of the named institutional surfaces that Varia cites directly rather than re-grading through a separate house label.

Varia uses ClinGen Gene-Disease Validity labels when a gene has already been graded by that framework, and it uses ClinGen Actionability where the authority surface is relevant to pathogenic findings. This keeps Varia in the role of curator and transparent surfacer rather than synthetic re-grader.

• Why Varia uses it: Varia uses ClinGen because it is the named authority in VEGS for gene-disease validity and actionability surfaces.
• Last reviewed by Varia: 2026-05-28
• Reference URL: https://clinicalgenome.org/

ClinPGx

ClinPGx is the consolidated pharmacogenomics platform that absorbed CPIC and PharmGKB content in March 2026. Varia queries guideline and clinical-annotation levels through the ClinPGx REST API at api.clinpgx.org and watches GitHub releases on clinpgx/clinpgx-data for schema and content updates per VEGS § 10 Detector 2 and Detector 4.

• Why Varia uses it: ClinPGx is the post-migration canonical API for CPIC guideline levels and PharmGKB clinical annotations.
• Last reviewed by Varia: 2026-05-28
• Reference URL: https://www.clinpgx.org/ (API: https://api.clinpgx.org/)

Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium

CPIC publishes pharmacogenomic guidelines that translate genotype information into drug-response interpretation. VEGS treats CPIC levels as authority-surfaced outputs for pharmacogenomic findings rather than as material for a second Varia-made grade. Since the March 2026 ClinPGx migration, Varia reads CPIC guideline data through ClinPGx; the legacy cpicpgx.org site redirects to ClinPGx.

Varia uses CPIC to populate pharmacogenomic authority panels, to name the relevant drug-gene pair, and to drive weekly and event-driven detector checks for guideline changes. When Varia talks about medication-response evidence, CPIC is one of the first named authorities in that chain.

• Why Varia uses it: Varia uses CPIC because VEGS routes pharmacogenomic interpretation through established clinical guideline levels instead of a parallel in-house framework.
• Last reviewed by Varia: 2026-05-28
• Reference URL: https://www.clinpgx.org/ (CPIC content; legacy cpicpgx.org redirects)

ClinVar

ClinVar is the NCBI archive that aggregates variant classifications, review status, and submission-level disagreement around clinically interpreted variants. VEGS uses ClinVar as the public authority surface for ACMG-linked pathogenic findings and for conflict-aware review-status chips.

Varia uses ClinVar VCV records, raw review-status text, and conflict-aware labels when a pathogenic finding is eligible to surface with authority chrome. ClinVar also feeds the weekly change-detection workflow through variant-summary and submission-summary monitoring.

• Why Varia uses it: Varia uses ClinVar because it is the named public archive behind pathogenic classification surfacing and review-status transparency.
• Last reviewed by Varia: 2026-05-28
• Reference URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/clinvar/

American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics

ACMG is the professional body whose ACMG/AMP classification framework underlies Varia's pathogenic authority surface. VEGS explicitly states that Pathogenic-class entries surface ACMG-linked classifications verbatim rather than passing them through a second Varia rubric.

Varia uses ACMG because the product needs a named clinical framework for rare pathogenic findings, especially when those findings appear with high-confidence sequencing input. The Editorial Standards and Methodology pages both rely on that authority chain when they explain why Varia does not invent a second pathogenicity score.

• Why Varia uses it: Varia uses ACMG because the rare-variant surface needs a recognized clinical classification framework instead of solo editorial invention.
• Last reviewed by Varia: 2026-05-28
• Reference URL: https://www.acmg.net/

PharmGKB

PharmGKB is a pharmacogenomics knowledge base that publishes clinical annotation levels and structured drug-gene evidence. VEGS names PharmGKB alongside CPIC as one of the authorities Varia consults for pharmacogenomic surfacing. Post-migration, Varia queries PharmGKB clinical annotation levels through the ClinPGx API.

Varia uses PharmGKB clinical annotation levels to complement CPIC guideline levels and to make the medication-response evidence chain more legible on public pages and product surfaces. PharmGKB sits on the ClinPGx monthly detector schedule for authority updates.

• Why Varia uses it: Varia uses PharmGKB because its clinical annotation levels strengthen the pharmacogenomic authority chain that VEGS makes public.
• Last reviewed by Varia: 2026-05-28
• Reference URL: https://www.pharmgkb.org/ (API access via api.clinpgx.org)

Pharmacogene Variation Consortium

PharmVar maintains star-allele nomenclature and release cadence for key pharmacogene haplotype sets, especially complex genes such as CYP2D6. VEGS makes PharmVar currency a named rule in the pharmacogenomic architecture rather than an invisible implementation detail.

Varia uses PharmVar to decide whether a CYP2D6-specialized caller is current enough for authority surfacing and to anchor the monthly release-watch detector. This matters because Varia explicitly refuses to show clinical-looking confidence on out-of-date or unsupported star-allele calls.

• Why Varia uses it: Varia uses PharmVar because pharmacogene naming currency is a load-bearing safety rule in the VEGS pharmacogenomic pipeline.
• Last reviewed by Varia: 2026-05-28
• Reference URL: https://www.pharmvar.org/

Closing note

This page exists so readers can inspect the named authorities behind Varia's most consequential surfaces. The broader source landscape lives on the Sources page, and the rules that govern when Varia cites those bodies live on the Editorial Standards page. The higher-level product explanation remains on the Methodology page.