The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of pharmacogenetics-guided treatment on patients diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety, in a diverse set of clinical settings, as compared to the standard of care. The trial design followed a prospective, randomized, subject- and rater-blinded approach enrolling 685 patients from clinical providers specializing in Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Family Medicine. The NeuroIDgenetix test uses a genetic variant panel of ten genes, along with concomitant medications, to make medication management recommendations based on gene-drug and drug-drug interactions for over 40 medications used in the treatment of depression and anxiety. Pharmacogenetic testing was performed at the initial screening visit and baseline patient assessments were determined using the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17) and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A). Following enrollment and randomization, pharmacogenetic results for subjects assigned to the experimental group were provided to physicians to guide treatment selection, while control subjects were treated according to the usual standard of care. HAM-D17 and HAM-A assessments were collected at 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks after baseline to assess the efficacy of therapeutic selection. In patients diagnosed with depression, response rates (p = 0.001; OR: 4.72 [1.93-11.52]) and remission rates (p = 0.02; OR: 3.54 [1.27-9.88]) were significantly higher in the pharmacogenetics-guided group as compared to the control group at 12 weeks. In addition, patients in the experimental group diagnosed with anxiety showed a meaningful improvement in HAM-A scores at both 8 and 12 weeks (p = 0.02 and 0.02, respectively), along with higher response rates (p = 0.04; OR: 1.76 [1.03-2.99]). From these results, we conclude that pharmacogenetic-guided medication selection significantly improves outcomes of patients diagnosed with depression or anxiety, in a variety of healthcare settings.

The health care costs associated with prescription drugs are enormous, particularly in patients with polypharmacy (taking more than five prescription medications), and they continue to grow annually. The evolution of pharmacogenetics has provided clinicians with a valuable tool that allows for a smarter, more fine-tuned approach to treating patients for a number of clinical conditions. Applying a pharmacogenetics approach to the medical management of patients can provide a significant improvement to their care, result in cost savings by reducing the use of ineffective drugs, and decrease overall health care utilization. AltheaDx has begun a study to look at the benefits associated with incorporating pharmacogenetics into the medical management of patients who are on five or more medications. Applying pharmacogenetic guided PharmD recommendations across this patient population resulted in the elimination and/or replacement of one to three drugs, for 50% of the polypharmacy patient population tested, and an estimated US$621 in annual savings per patient. The initial assessment of this study shows that there is a clear opportunity for concrete health care savings solely from prescription drug management when incorporating pharmacogenetic testing.

The burden of depression significantly impacts the patient, the health care system, and society, at large. Medication management guided by pharmacogenetics has been shown to increase therapeutic efficacy and improve symptoms in patients diagnosed with depression, but limited data are available on the cost savings of pharmacogenetic-guided interventions outside of psychiatric clinical specialties. Our study utilizes published health care costs and clinical patient outcome data to model the economic impact of pharmacogenetic-guided treatment for depression in a variety of clinical settings. Assuming a test cost of USD$2,000 for pharmacogenetic testing, the model predicts a savings of USD$3,962 annually per patient with pharmacogenetic-guided medication management.

BackgroundAmong long-term care facility residents, polypharmacy is common, and often appropriate, given the need to treat multiple, complex, chronic conditions. Polypharmacy has, however, been associated with increased healthcare costs, adverse drug events, and drug interactions. The current study evaluates the potential medication cost savings of adding personalized pharmacogenetic information to traditional medication management strategies.MethodsOne hundred and twelve long-term care residents completed pharmacogenetic testing for targeted variants in the following genes: CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP3A4/CYP3A5, HTR2A, HTR2C, SLC6A4, SLC6A2 COMT, OPRM1, SLCO1B1, VKORC1 and MTHFR. Following reporting of the IDgenetix Polypharmacy® test results, an internal medication management assessment was performed by a licensed clinical pharmacist to identify potential opportunities for regimen optimization through medication changes or discontinuations. The medication cost differences before and after the pharmacogenetic-guided review were assessed.ResultsMedication review following pharmacogenetic result reporting identified 54 patients (48.2%) with a total of 132 drug change recommendations (45 reductions; 87 replacements) and an average of 2.4 proposed medication changes (range 1–6) per patient. Medication cost savings related to the identified reduction and replacement opportunities exceeded the cost of testing and are estimated to be US$ 1300 (year 2016 cost) per patient annually assuming full implementation.ConclusionCompared with traditional medication review, pharmacogenetic testing resulted in a 38% increase in the number of patients with current medication change opportunities and also offered valuable genetic information that could be referenced to personalize future prescribing decisions for all patients.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02411123​​.