Assurex Health officials hope their GeneSight brand of genetic tests becomes the standard of care most doctors think of when it comes to devising individualized treatment options for patients with mental disorders.

Analysis of a sample of a patient’s DNA, obtained by swabbing the inside of a cheek, can reduce the trial and error often involved in determining the best medication to treat depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or chronic pain.

Assurex receives up to 300 DNA samples a day via FedEx from doctor offices, and the results are reported back within 36 hours. Assurex ran tests on 60,000 people from 2008 to 2013. The company expects to run 65,000 tests this year alone.

“We’d like to help a million people by the end of 2018,” Drosos said.

To achieve that goal, “we’re continuing to grow our sales force,” Drosos said. “We had 20 sales people in the field this time last year. By the end of this month, we will have 65.

“I’ve been out in the field every quarter riding with our sales reps,” Drosos said. She hopes “to build relationships with my team by getting a ground-level understanding. There’s no way I could develop new sales materials if I didn’t understand how they’re used.”

She spends about 30 percent of her time on the road.

“I’ve been to a lot of psychiatrists’ conferences,” Drosos said. “It’s been great for me as a learning experience to … hear directly from clinicians what they think of GeneSight.”

Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/print-edition/2014/04/25/what-does-assurex-sell.html