New personalized medicine solutions to optimize treatment for psychiatric and neurological diseases have been developed. Using blood samples, combined with a patients’ genetic background, this test identifies optimal drug therapy for individuals, opening the door to faster treatment, fewer side effects, lower dosing, and the elimination of arduous trial-and-error treatment protocols.
Antidepressants typically don’t work right away. A trial and error approach is one of the most frustrating challenges for patients and clinicians. A given medication at a given dose often needs several weeks to become fully effective, and that’s if its side effects can be tolerated. BrightKaire changes all that. The evidence-based test involves a simple blood sample and uses each patient’s own brain cells to identify the right medication in just weeks. It’s a game changer for anyone who knows the suffering of depression.”
This week, BrightKaire™, a test based on a “brain in a dish” technology, has been launched that helps clinicians choose the best antidepressant medication for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).
The Technology
After receiving a patient’s blood sample, laboratory team creates neurons from each patient, and exposes them to various antidepressants. Using its proprietary AI platform to analyze personalized patient data — including genetic background, and microscopic features of patient-derived neurons — the results provide a detailed report demonstrating how well a patient will respond to different antidepressants. Results include an individual’s likelihood for adverse events. That information is shared with the patient’s clinical team, resulting in more accurate, faster, and effective medication, reduced side effects, and lower healthcare costs.
This new personalized approach recently received regulatory approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, marking the first test to use blood-derived neurons in clinical practice. The test is reimbursed under several insurance plans including Medicare Part B.
This novel technology also enables pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to bring precision medicine into drug development throughout the developmental pipeline across psychiatry and neurology.
For more details: Press Release