PHARMACOGENOMIC TESTING NOW AVAILABLE TO GUIDE MORE CLINICIANS’ MEDICATION DECISIONS FOR PATIENTS WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND CHRONIC PAIN DIAGNOSES

GeneSight^® Doubles Rate of Remission and Response, Lowers Healthcare Costs

Mason, OH – June 19, 2013 – Assurex Health, a leading personalized medicine company providing treatment decision support for neuropsychiatric disorders, announced today that it has joined the SIHO Insurance Services network. This further broadens coverage for Assurex Health’s GeneSight pharmacogenomic test, which uses technology to analyze how genetic makeup affects an individual’s response to medications for depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, ADHD, and chronic pain conditions.

“At SIHO, we are passionate about assisting employers and health care providers by engaging individuals in their health, improving quality outcomes and controlling the costs of health benefit coverage,” said David S. Barker, President and CEO, SIHO Insurance Services.  “Assurex Health shares the same core values, and we are pleased to add them to our list of in-network providers.” SIHO Insurance Services is an innovative cooperative of local physicians, hospitals and employers located in Columbus, Indiana and covering 100,000 lives.

Depression is a Major Burden for Employers and the Healthcare System

Ineffective treatment for depression is responsible for more than 200 million days lost from work in the US each year. The annual cost of untreated depression exceeds $43 billion in absenteeism from work, lost productivity, and direct treatment costs. [i] Clinically validated treatment decision support to improve outcomes has been welcomed by thousands of clinicians as an improvement to current practice.

“We are committed to providing patients with the most advanced and proven technologies to improve their outcomes,” said Jeffrey P. Bush, Assurex Health Vice President, Payer Markets and Reimbursement. “Now thousands of patients seeking help for mental illness, pain and other neuropsychiatric disorders in Indiana may avoid the trial-and-error approach of medication prescribing, which is a troubling reality for many.”

GeneSight is developed by Assurex Health based on patented technology invented by Mayo Clinic and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center who continue to be research collaborators.  GeneSight has a demonstrated track record with over 90,000 patients tested and is reimbursed through a number of private insurance companies and government payers. Four published, peer-reviewed clinical studies validate that patients whose treatment was guided by GeneSight experienced double the rate of remission and double the odds of response compared with treatment as usual, while reducing health care costs by 38%. [ii]

“The clinical validity and utility of the GeneSight combinatorial pharmacogenomic testing platform has been well established in multiple published clinical studies,” according to Bryan M. Dechairo, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs and Clinical Development at Assurex Health. “Prescribing medications compatible with an individual’s genetic profile can help clinicians better manage each patient’s illness, leading to reduced symptoms and improved clinical outcomes.”

About GeneSight 
GeneSight is a laboratory-developed pharmacogenomic test that uses cutting edge technology to measure and analyze clinically important genomic variants in the treatment of mental health and chronic pain. The results of the GeneSight report can help a clinician understand the way a patient’s unique genomic makeup may affect certain neuropsychiatric medications. The analysis is based on pharmacogenomics, the study of genomic factors that influence an individual’s response to drug treatments, manufacturers’ FDA approved drug labels, peer reviewed scientific and clinical publications, and proven drug pharmacology.   Quick turnaround time, combined with an individualized report of the patient’s genomic makeup, clinical experience, and other factors can provide information to help a physician make personalized medication treatment choices for each patient.

There are four Assurex Health products powered by GeneSight technology. GeneSight Psychotropic gives physicians a powerful genetic-based tool to measure a patient’s genetic response to antidepressant and antipsychotic medications. The GeneSight Analgesic test helps clinicians evaluate genetic responses for patients with acute or chronic pain to 22 medications in four drug classes: opioids, NSAIDs, muscle relaxants and opioid dependency. GeneSight ADHD provides information about patient response to ADHD medications, including stimulant and non-stimulant medications. GeneSight MTHFR helps determine if additional folic acid supplementation is necessary. More than 8,000 healthcare practitioners have used GeneSight to guide treatment decisions for more than 90,000 patients. For more information, visit www.sandbox.genesight.com.    

About Assurex Health
Assurex Health is a personalized medicine company that specializes in pharmacogenomics and is dedicated to helping physicians determine the right medication for individual patients with neuropsychiatric and other medical conditions. The company was founded to commercialize industry-leading personalized medicine technology for neuropsychiatric conditions.  Assurex Health has licensed patented technology from Mayo Clinic and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center who remain research collaborators. Assurex Health is a DBA of AssureRx Health, Inc. For more information, visit www.assurexhealth.com.

About SIHO
Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, SIHO Insurance Services is a not-for-profit health plan administrator.  It was established in 1987 through the cooperative efforts of local physicians, hospitals, and employers who were concerned about the rising cost of health care. Today, SIHO is a regional leader in innovative health benefit solutions for businesses of all sizes, offering a wide range of products and services including third-party administration, fully insured plans, wellness programs, flexible spending plan administration, a full line of consumer-directed health plans, and one of the largest propriety networks of physicians and facilities in the region.  For more information, visit www.siho.org.

[i] NAMI Policy Research Institute “The Impact and Cost of Mental Illness: The Case of Depression” https://www.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Inform_Yourself/About_Public_Policy/Policy_Research_Institute/Policymakers_Toolkit/ Impact_and_Cost_of_Mental_Illness_the_Case_of_Depression.pdf

[ii] Winner,J. (2013). Psychiatric pharmacogenomics predicts health resource utilization of outpatients with anxiety and depression. Transl. Psychiatry, 3:e242.