ASSUREX HEALTH NAMES BURNS EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, PROMOTES DROSOS TO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Wright Continues as Chief Operating Officer to Lead Informatics Innovation
Mason, OH – June 17, 2014 – Assurex Health, the leading personalized medicine company helping physicians select the right medication for patients with mental health disorders and chronic pain, named James S. Burns Executive Chairman and Virginia (Gina) C. Drosos as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2014.
Burns, who has served as CEO since 2009, will chair the Board of Directors, as well as focusing on long-term development of Assurex Health’s proprietary technology platform and overseeing the company’s Scientific Advisory Board. Drosos, who joined the company in August 2013, adds the CEO role to her responsibilities as President and leader of the commercial organization and fast growing program to drive broad awareness and adoption of GeneSight.
Company Chief Operating Officer, Donald R. Wright, who has led Assurex operations since 2008, will continue to lead major Assurex Health initiatives related to informatics innovation, product development, laboratory operations, reimbursement, human resources and government affairs.
“Assurex Health has been built on industry-leading genetic technology, informatics, intellectual property, and clinical data,” said Burns. “We address a very large market for our GeneSight products with a demonstrated clinical and economic benefit. Our goal now is to scale the company commercially and make GeneSight technology broadly available to clinicians and their patients. Gina has the proven leadership qualities and ability to scale the company and lead a substantial expansion of our patient and clinician customer base. Gina, Don, and I will continue working closely together to help make GeneSight-enabled mental wellness a reality.”
Fast Growth Signals Increasing Acceptance of Flagship GeneSight Test
The new management roles allow Assurex Health to enhance its focus on leading-edge science, clinical data and driving awareness and adoption as it continues its rapid growth, helping thousands of clinicians select the right medications for nearly 100,000 patients with neuropsychiatric disorders . In the past year, Assurex Health has almost doubled its workforce to more than 200 employees, and doubled the number of patients it tests each month.
Assurex Health’s GeneSight technology helps guide clinicians making medication decisions for patients with neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, PTSD, ADHD, bipolar disorder, or chronic pain. Compared with the current standard of care, patients whose treatment was guided by GeneSight had double the odds of remission and response to medication, and experienced 70 percent greater improvement in depressive symptoms.
“Under Jim’s leadership, we are seeing tremendous growth and success, and I am honored to succeed him as CEO,” Drosos said. “My vision for Assurex Health is to make GeneSight a standard of care. We remain dedicated to helping clinicians better their treatment of patients with mental health disorders, changing how neuropsychiatric medicines are prescribed, and helping speed patients on the road to recovery.”
“With Gina in her new role, I am excited to see where we can take this company,” said Wright. “We have come a long way in developing informatics-based products that are clinically relevant and easy to use. Now, we’re helping more clinicians and patients across the country than ever before realize there is a better, more effective way to make and manage medication decisions.”
Enhanced Coverage, Strong Support
Assurex Health continues to rapidly increase the number of health plans that reimburse the cost of GeneSight testing. This includes government payers, as well as growing relationships with commercial payer organizations. Last month, Assurex Health announced that it had become an in-network provider with The Alliance, a not-for-profit cooperative serving employers who self-fund their health benefits in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. Today, Assurex Health announced that it has joined the SIHO Insurance Services Provider Network, an innovative cooperative of local physicians, hospitals and employers in the Midwest.
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 psychiatric disorders. The results of the GeneSight report can help a clinician understand the way a patient’s unique genomic makeup may affect certain psychiatric 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.
Assurex Health has four laboratory developed tests powered by GeneSight technology. The GeneSight Psychotropic test analyzes how a patient’s genes may affect his/her metabolism and response to FDA-approved medicines commonly prescribed to treat depression, anxiety, bipolar disease, schizophrenia or other behavioral health conditions. GeneSight Analgesic gives physicians a powerful genetic-based tool to help evaluate medication responses for patients with acute or chronic pain across four drug classes: opioids, NSAIDs, muscle relaxants and opioid dependency medications. 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 over 90,000 patients.
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.
Assurex recently disclosed a $32 million financing round from GE Capital, Silicon Valley Bank and additional investments by Sequoia Capital, Claremont Creek Ventures, CincyTech, Allos Ventures, and others. The company also launched its first product-specific website for GeneSight earlier this month. Learn more at www.assurexhealth.com and www. sandbox.genesight.com Assurex Health is a DBA of AssureRx Health, Inc.