Assurex Health Secures $30 Million Financing Round to Continue Growth in Neuropsychiatric Pharmacogenomics
Follows Positive Coverage Decisions from Medicare and Veterans Affairs
MASON, Ohio, Dec. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Assurex Health, a personalized medicine company providing industry-leading treatment decision support to healthcare providers for behavioral health and chronic pain conditions, today announced that it has secured $30 million in equity financing from new and existing investors, according to Virginia C. Drosos, President and Chief Executive Officer.
The financing will support increased clinical adoption and development of Assurex Health's GeneSight® products. GeneSight's patented technology is based on combinatorial pharmacogenomics (CPGx™), the study of how variations in multiple genes influence an individual's response to medications, informed by evidence-based medicine and clinical pharmacology.
"We are pleased to welcome two new investors in this round of funding, American Financial Group and Cross Creek Advisors," Drosos said. "We also have strong support from existing investors Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Sequoia Capital, Claremont Creek Ventures, Mayo Clinic, CincyTech, Allos Ventures and Danmar Capital. All of the investors have a proven track record, and we are thrilled to have them support our growth and expansion. They are providing the means for us to move to the next stage of the company's development and continue charting our future course."
"Through its proven value to patients and clinicians, Assurex Health has emerged as a market-leading pharmacogenomics company," said Warren Hogarth, Partner, Sequoia Capital. "We are gratified to be part of this world-class company that impacts a growing number of lives every day. For patients and families facing the challenges of mental health and pain management, Assurex Health offers a proven path to better outcomes. This investment round will allow the company to reach more clinicians and patients while expanding its scientific and clinical foundations."
"This technology has the potential to change how medications are selected for patients, including pediatric patients, with neuropsychiatric disorders," said Michael Fisher, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "We are proud to have been part of the founding of the company and to continue our support."
GeneSight Acceptance, Use Growing
More than 9,000 clinicians have used GeneSight to help make treatment decisions for more than 125,000 patients across the country. In the past several months, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Medicare, which provide medical coverage to more than 52 million Americans, have added GeneSight's unique multi-gene psychotropic test to their coverage plans. The VA is America's largest integrated health care system with more than 1,400 sites of care, serving almost nine million veterans each year.
"Our mission is to help healthcare providers improve the treatment outcomes of patients. Results from multiple clinical studies have demonstrated that GeneSight's combinatorial approach results in better outcomes and at lower cost to the healthcare system," noted Drosos. "Clinicians and patients are sharing their personal success stories with us and we want to take those results to the many millions of people struggling with mental health issues themselves or with loved ones."
One in four adults − approximately 61.5 million Americans − experiences mental illness in a given year, according to the National Institutes of Health. One in 17 − about 13.6 million − live with a serious mental illness such as major depression, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.i It also is estimated that 490 million prescriptions are written each year for antidepressants and antipsychoticsii, with a $140 billion economic consequenceiii.
About Assurex Health
Assurex Health is a personalized medicine company providing industry-leading treatment decision support to clinicians for behavioral health conditions. Assurex Health's proprietary GeneSight technology is based on combinatorial pharmacogenomics (CPGx™) – the study of the genetic factors that influence an individual's response to medications – as well as evidence-based medicine and clinical pharmacology. Assurex Health has licensed patented technology from Mayo Clinic and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center who remain technology contributors. Learn more at www.assurexhealth.com.
About GeneSight
GeneSight helps health care providers make more precise treatment decisions based on how a patient's unique genetic makeup affects their individual response to 38 FDA-approved medications for depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and/or other mental health conditions. GeneSight is the only neuropsychiatric combinatorial pharmacogenomic test validated in multiple, peer-reviewed, published clinical studies. GeneSight analyzes over 785,000 permutations of an individual's genes and available medications, and presents the results in an easy to read, actionable color-coded report available 36 hours after Assurex Health receives a patient's cheek swab. Many commercial and government insurance plans, including Medicare and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, reimburse all or part of the cost of GeneSight. Assurex Health also offers financial assistance programs for patients who qualify. Learn more at www.genesight.com.
i National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Statistics: Any Disorder Among Adults. Retrieved March 5, 2013, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/statistics/1ANYDIS_ADULT.shtml
ii Symphony Health Solutions, Pharmaceutical Audit, 2013
iii Greenberg PE, et al. The Economic Burden of Depression in the United States. J Clin Psychiatry 2003;64:1465–1475.
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SOURCE Assurex Health
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