FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): A Fort Wayne college is kicking off a first-of-its-kind medical degree program.

Manchester University has created the only master’s degree program in the nation for pharmacogenomics, according to the News-Sentinel. The practice creates drug therapies for patients based on their DNA in an effort to lower costs and lessen side-effects.

The one-year program kicked off classes on May 17th. Students will be using DNA collected from cheek swabs to study allergic reactions to drugs as well as how to prescribe drug amounts based on metabolism.

Eleven students signed up for this initial class.