Castle Biosciences’ IDgenetix pharmacogenomic test has showcased significant improvement in medication response and remission rates in patients with depressive disorder in a study.
The real-world study was conducted on patients suffering from moderate to severe depression.
According to data from the study, medication management using IDgenetix showed a 35% improvement in medication response and a 64% increase in remission compared to patients who were treated with the existing standard-of-care treatment.
Castle Biosciences presented the data at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting held between 20 and 24 May in San Francisco, US.
The company stated that the positive results are proof of the potential of IDgenetix to improve medication management.
The single-centre, open-label study was co-authored by Kelly Wosnik, owner and nurse practitioner at Bristol Health.
Wosnik said: “Unlike other pharmacogenomic tests, which only consider a patient’s drug-gene interactions, IDgenetix takes into account a patient’s drug-drug interactions and lifestyle factors and can provide a more comprehensive overview of which medications will be effective therapies for the patient.
“As supported by the data in this study, using IDgenetix to guide personalised medication selection can help improve the care of patients suffering from moderate to severe depression by offering hope of improved medication response and remission.”
IDgenetix utilises a 15-gene variant panel to provide medication recommendations for patients diagnosed with depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders.
Besides drug-gene interactions, the recommendations are also based on drug-drug interactions and lifestyle factors.
The test empowers clinicians to accurately personalise treatments to individual patients, rather than depend on the trial-and-error method.
In the previously published randomised control trial, the use of IDgenetix for medication management of patients with severe depression demonstrated an improvement of more than two and a half times in remission rates compared to those whose medication was not guided by the test.
