New Psychotropic Genomics Test Expanded

Assurex Health announced an expansion to its GeneSight Psychotropic test to aid clinicians make individualized antidepressant and antipsychotic medication decisions for patients with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other behavior health disorders. The test now covers 38 FDA-approved medications.

The GeneSight Psychotropic test now include 2 more genes involved in psychotropic drug metabolism, CYP3A4 and CYP2B6. The test integrates the patient’s genetic profile and drug response and metabolism genes for 38 psychiatric drugs into an easy-to-interpret report for clinicians. Results are available to order within 36 hours upon receipt of a patient’s cheek swab sample.

The personalized report categorizes the antidepressants and antipsychotics into 3 color-coded categories: “Use as Directed” in green, “Use with Caution” in yellow, or “Use with Increased Caution and with More Frequent Monitoring” in red. The analysis informs the clinician of genetic information as it relates to dosage, pharmacology, FDA-approved package insert information, and detailed drug metabolism and mechanisms of actions.

Comparative studies showed a 70% greater improvement in depressive symptoms in patients whose treatment was guided by GeneSight Psychotropic test vs. current standards of care. Also, patients experienced double the rate of both remission and response vs. usual treatment according to results of a meta-analysis of 3 clinical studies.

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