Assurex Health, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Myriad Genetics, announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently initiated a national, multicenter trial to evaluate the company's GeneSight test to help improve health outcomes for veterans diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). Approximately 20% of the 2.6 million veterans who deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan returned with MDD or a related mental health condition, and tragically suicide rates for veterans are twice that of the U.S. population.

“Through this study we hope to learn if there is an association between the GeneSight test and more effective treatment for Veterans suffering from major depressive disorder, a condition which affects many veterans,” said David Oslin, M.D., principal investigator and chief of Behavioral Health at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center. “As the largest healthcare provider in the U.S., the VA is committed to improving mental health care for our nation’s Veterans and reducing the suicide rate for Veterans. We’re excited to incorporate pharmacogenomic testing into our Prime Care study to help tailor treatment plans for our Veterans with the goal of improving their health outcomes.”

The study titled, PRIME Care (PRecision Medicine In MEntal Health Care), is a randomized clinical trial to determine how providers use and patients respond to GeneSight-guided therapy. The VA has committed $12 million to fund the study that will enroll 2,000 patients with MDD and include 250 healthcare providers at 21 VA medical centers. The study is expected to complete in 2021.

“We are extremely honored to collaborate with the VA by providing our high quality GeneSight pharmacogenomics test to the PRIME Care study and to support the VA’s mission to care for America's veterans,” said Bryan Dechairo, Ph.D., executive vice president, Clinical Development, Myriad Genetics. “As one of the largest healthcare providers worldwide, the VA is uniquely positioned to use genetic information to improve the treatment of major depression.”