New Findings from University of Colorado Describe Advances in Antidepressants (Pharmacogenetic Testing Among Patients With Depression In a Us Managed Care Population): Drugs and Therapies – Antidepressants

2022 JUN 01 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators publish new report on Drugs and Therapies - Antidepressants. According to news originating from Aurora, Colorado, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Actionable drug-gene pairs relevant to depression treatment include CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 with specific antidepressants. While clinical use of pharmacogenetic testing is growing, little is known about pharmacogenetic testing for depression treatment in managed care.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Colorado, “We determined the incidence of single-gene CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 testing following a new depression episode among US managed care patients, and described characteristics and antidepressant use of patients receiving tests. We used paid medical and pharmacy claims for patients from commercial health plans in the US. For adult patients with a new depression episode from January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2018, we identified covered claims for single-gene CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 pharmacogenetic tests and antidepressant fills. Fewer than 1% (n = 1795) of the depressed cohort (n = 438,534) received a single-gene CYP2D6 or CYP2C19 test through their insurance within 365 days of their earliest depression episode. The percentage of patients who received a test nearly tripled from 0.2% in 2013 to 0.5% in 2014 before plateauing at 0.4% from 2014 to 2017. Among the patients who received a single-gene CYP2D6 or CYP2C19 test and filled an antidepressant within 365 days of their depression diagnosis, up to 30% may have had their initial antidepressant informed by the test result. Our findings describe the use of antidepressants before and after pharmacogenetic testing, which is clinically relevant as pharmacogenomic testing becomes more common in clinical practice.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Our study also emphasizes the need for procedure and billing codes that capture multiple-gene panel tests to be more widely implemented in administrative databases.”

For more information on this research see: Pharmacogenetic Testing Among Patients With Depression In a Us Managed Care Population. Clinical and Translational Science, 2022. Clinical and Translational Science can be contacted at: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA. (Wiley-Blackwell - http://www.wiley.com/; Clinical and Translational Science - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1752-8062)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Heather D. Anderson, University of Colorado, Dept. of Clinical Pharmacy, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aurora, CO, United States. Additional authors for this research include Nicholas D. Mendola, David P. Kao, Kristy R. Crooks, Christina L. Aquilante and Thida M. Thant.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1111/cts.13279. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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