Abstract
Children’s Minnesota, the largest pediatric health system in the U.S., has announced it will use the diagnostic platform of RPRD (Right Person Right Drug) Diagnostics in a collaboration designed to advance pharmacogenomic testing.
“Our intention is to begin using this testing platform within the clinical programs that make the most sense. Right now, that means focusing on our cancer and blood disorders clinic and the neurology-psychology practice,” Nancy Mendelsohn, M.D., senior medical director of specialty care at Children’s, told Clinical OMICs.
Genes targeted by drugs for these diseases or conditions are expected to be a main focus at first, expanding over time into other relevant indications, RPRD founder and CEO Ulrich Broeckel, M.D., said.
Under the collaboration, whose value was not disclosed, DNA samples from Children’s patients will be sent to RPRD, which will perform testing using Affymetrix PharmacoScan. The platform can analyze 4,627 markers within 1,191 genes of known pharmacogenomic value, at prices the company calls competitive with single-gene tests.
“While RPRD Diagnostics might report on a subset of genes as a panel test, the overarching goal is to utilize the full set of genes,” Dr. Broeckel said.
Test results with interpretation will be sent to Children’s for integration in the patient’s electronic medical record. Results will be available for physicians through the EMR and accompanying clinical decision support systems.
RPRD offers healthcare providers comprehensive pharmacogenomic testing and analysis services designed to advance precision medicine in routine clinical practice. It also offers custom genotyping panels tailored to the specialties of providers, and develops new tests for novel gene variants.
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“As novel research findings become available, we will custom design tests based on need,” Dr. Broeckel said.
Last year, Dr. Mendelsohn said, Children’s launched a pilot pharmacogenomics clinical service for approximately 50 patients. Results were positive and allowed for the identification of altered drug metabolism impacts for 90% of patients enrolled.
“Our genomic medicine team has long held the desire to further improve outcomes through pharmacogenomics, and RPRD Diagnostics’s deep expertise and strong testing platform were deemed an ideal fit for our needs,” Dr. Mendel-sohn said.