Mental health pharmacogenomics company Genomind announced Thursday it would begin shipping its Genomind Professional PGx Express test directly to patients as it seeks a method for clinicians to provide more precise prescribing for patients without requiring the patient travel to a clinician’s office or a testing lab.
“The travel limitations placed on our lives by the coronavirus pandemic require us to provide innovative solutions to help patients and healthcare providers, particularly during this time of intensified mental health strain,” said Shawn Patrick O’Brien, CEO of Genomind. “I am very proud of my team for being able to bring forward the rollout of this Express Ship-to-Patient solution to address the current reality of the mental health treatment landscape. Our patients’ mental health can’t wait.”
The Professional PGx Express test identifies patient-specific genetic markers that can help guide clinicians in selecting treatments for their patients that are more likely to be effective. Using this information can help shorten or eliminate what has typically been a long trial and error process of finding the right treatment for individual patients.
In addition to pointing the most likely effective medications, the test can also provide medication dosage guidance based on an individual’s pharmacokinetic profile. Currently there are FDA gene-specific warnings, precautions, drug interaction guidelines and dosage recommendations on over 270 medications.
Under the direct-to-patient shipping offering, physicians can order the test and Genomind will expedite shipping of the test kit to the address provided by the patient. Patients will follow instructions to provide a sample via a simple cheek swab and return it to Genomind’s lab for processing. With all required information, the laboratory can turn around results in less than three days – the fastest turnaround time in the industry – and a results report is then delivered to the physician. Genomind is also supporting this new service with On-Demand™ test consults with its team of pharmacogenomic experts to provide insights and support to physicians in interpreting test results.
“During this time of uncertainly and instability, our mental health patients need us more than ever,” said Gisoo Zarrabi, M.D. Medical Director of Harbor Psychiatry & Mental Health. “The Genomind Express direct-to-patient service has already proven itself invaluable to our practice and has allowed us to continue practicing psychiatry to the highest standard possible. We are thankful that our patients will continue to benefit from these essential reports — not just today, but for the rest of their lives.”
