It’s positively dizzying to think how profoundly the titans of Silicon Valley will change the way we approach healthcare over the coming decades. Alphabet alone has its Calico division researching the biology of aging, Life Sciences wing developing smart contact lenses capable of monitoring bodily functions, and Google X working on a Baseline Study of the human body. Just months ago, Google Ventures invested in a gene-editing platform that will allow scientists to easily cut and paste DNA. If this all sounds like Star-Trek-Bones-McCoy-Final-Frontier-type stuff, well, … it is. They’re truly going where no man has gone before. But they haven’t gotten there yet.
Interestingly, here in Red 212’s own backyard, there’s a rapidly growing tech company that’s transforming the way health care providers treat patients with mental health disorders—and it’s doing it right now. Heard of Mason, Ohio-based Assurex Health and its GeneSight genetics test? You will.
Administered with a simple cheek swab, the GeneSight test uses advanced algorithms and informatics to analyze how a patient’s genetic makeup will respond to 55 different mental health medications and indicates the best possible genetic match. Then, all of that incredible science gets boiled down to an easy-to-read report.
This is life-changing stuff.
And if you’ve ever had a family member or friend struggle with depression or another mental health disorder, you know why. Finding a medication that actually works and has no side effects is a massive, massive issue. Stunningly, right now, over half the time, the first medication depression patients are prescribed fails. Hello, medication rollercoaster. But by determining the meds that are most genetically appropriate, GeneSight helps patients get on the right ones faster. And that can make all the difference.
Transparency alert: Assurex Health is our client. So, yes, we’re bragging on family. (If this were a wallet, we’d be sharing pictures.) But since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, we thought there was no better time to do it. These guys are doing phenomenal work in the mental health space. 250,000 patients tested, and counting.
Congratulations, Assurex Health! You deserve every accolade.