(Photo: Enquirer file)

Assurex Health, the personalized medicine startup based in Mason, is expanding its genetic-based test that helps doctors prescribe the right medication for patients suffering from acute or chronic pain.

The company said Wednesday that its GeneSight Analgesic test will cover a patient’s potential response to 22 medications across four drug classes. The company said the expansion covers 98 percent of all medications prescribed for lower back pain.

Assurex, which was spun out of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 2006, has developed genetic-based tests that also help doctors prescribe the right medication for depression and ADHD. The company says it has tested more than 75,000 patients to date.

Assurex extracts and analyzes DNA from cheek swabs, and within 36 hours sends a report through a secure portal to doctors, detailing which medications are most likely to be effective for individual patients, based on his or her genes.

Assurex announced last week that it’s joined The Alliance network, which serves more than 200 employers in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa.

The company’s local investors include Allos Ventures, CincyTech, Queen City Angels and Blue Chip Venture Co., and the company closed a $7 million funding round in the first quarter.

Source: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/josh-pichler/2014/04/30/assurex-cincytech-allos-ventures/8503379/