GeneSight Weeds Out Ineffective Drug Therapies for Depression

This study was our largest study and the largest pharmacogenomic study in a mental health condition that has ever been conducted,” Bryan Dechairo, Ph.D., executive vice president of clinical development, Myriad Genetics, told MD+DI. “Our goal was to prove that when doctors and physicians see which medications are inappropriate for a patient and avoid using them, then that will actually improve the chances of the patient getting on a medication that will work for them.” Patients were divided into two treatment arms: the GeneSight Psychotropic test arm (n=560) in which clinicians used GeneSight test results to guide treatment decisions and a treatment-as-usual arm (n=607) in which psychiatrists and primary care physicians prescribed medication as they normally would without the benefit of genetic testing. The Hamilton Depression scale (HAM-D17) was used to measure the key endpoints of remission (achieving a HAM-D17 score <7), response (50% decrease in HAM-D17 from baseline) and symptom improvement (percent change in HAM-D17 from baseline) at week 8. The durability of patients’ mental health outcomes was assessed at week 24. Myriad inherited the GeneSight test when it acquired Mason, OH-based Assurex Health for about $410 million in 2016. “GeneSight is slightly different than a companion diagnostic,” Dechairo said. “Typically, a companion diagnostic will be for a single medication and it will say that this medication works better because of this biomarker. What ...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: IVD Testing Source Type: news