RPRD Diagnostics Launches to Bring Comprehensive Pharmacogenetics Testing to Routine Clinical Practice

MILWAUKEE, Oct. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- RPRD (Right Person Right Drug) Diagnostics today announced its founding as a spin-off from the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). As a precision medicine company, RPRD Diagnostics is focused on providing comprehensive pharmacogenetics testing services, which analyze patients' genomes for variations that are known to impact drug safety and efficacy, in a CLIA-certified lab. Bringing a cost-effective genetic screening service into routine clinical practice will enable health care providers to tailor drug prescriptions to individual patients.

The company, headquartered in Milwaukee, will develop clinical laboratory tests using next-generation microarray platforms and other advanced technologies. RPRD Diagnostics' unique services enable health care providers to preemptively screen a patient's genome for variations known to impact the performance or metabolism of a drug. Tailoring treatments in this way can improve patient outcomes, reduce the risk of adverse drug reactions, and lower overall costs. Additionally, the company provides supporting services for interpretation of patient genetic data and integration into electronic medical record (EMR) systems.

"Over the past decade, there have been major advances in pharmacogenetics, improving our understanding of how genetics contribute to an individual's response to a drug. Unfortunately, these advances have not been widely implemented due to the high cost and narrow scope of currently available tests," said Ulrich Broeckel, MD, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RPRD Diagnostics and professor of pediatrics, medicine and physiology at MCW.

RPRD Diagnostics specializes in offering comprehensive pharmacogenetics testing services that survey thousands of clinically actionable gene variants in parallel and provides the necessary interpretation and integration into the client's EMR systems. The company is able to achieve this goal, at a per-variant cost far below competitors, by leveraging new technology platforms developed internally and by various partners. "With the current shift toward precision medicine, and the industry focus on improving patient outcomes," said Dr. Broeckel, "RPRD Diagnostics offers unique and cost-effective solutions to help our clients develop value-based business models and to improve patient care."

William Clarke, MD, Director of Research Commercialization and part of the Office of Technology Development at MCW, said, "It was exciting to assist Dr. Broeckel in the development of his new company. I am convinced that RPRD Diagnostics will bring important new clinical insights to the care of patients. This company, along with our prior spin-off companies, shows the deep expertise that MCW has in genetics."

About RPRD Diagnostics
RPRD (Right Person Right Drug) Diagnostics is dedicated to offering health care providers with comprehensive pharmacogenetic testing and analysis services to inform clinical decisions and improve patient outcomes. These tests will help physicians make determinations about the best drug treatment for each patient, taking into account the patient's unique genetics against relevant genomic insights and therapeutic approaches. The company's founder, scientific advisors, and technical team are world leaders in genomics technology, pharmacogenetics testing, and clinical implementation of genetic testing. The company's mission is to enable precision medicine in routine clinical practice. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.rprdx.com, and follow us on Twitter @RPRDx.

About Medical College of Wisconsin
The Medical College of Wisconsin is the state's only private medical school and health sciences graduate school.  Founded in 1893, it is dedicated to leadership and excellence in education, patient care, research and community engagement.  More than 1,200 students are enrolled in MCW's medical school and graduate school programs in Milwaukee, 56 medical students enrolled at MCW-Green Bay, and 26 students matriculated to MCW-Central Wisconsin in 2016.  MCW's School of Pharmacy will open in 2017 or 2018 with an initial class size of 60 students.  A major national research center, MCW is the largest research institution in the Milwaukee metro area and second largest in Wisconsin.  In FY 2014-15, faculty received approximately $158 million in external support for research, teaching, training and related purposes, of which approximately $139 million is for research.  This total includes highly competitive research and training awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  Annually, MCW faculty direct or collaborate on more than 3,200 research studies, including clinical trials. Additionally, more than 1,500 physicians provide care in virtually every specialty of medicine for more than 525,000 patients annually.

SOURCE RPRD (Right Person Right Drug) Diagnostics

Related Links

http://www.rprdx.com