Phenomics Health Acquires Precera Bioscience’s Proprietary Pharmacometabolomic Technology to Enhance Precision Medication Management

VCBeat (WeChat ID:vcbeat) learned that,2019Year11Month22A platform-based bioinformatics precision medicine companyPhenomics HealthAnnouncement of AcquisitionPrecera BioscienceThe company's patented drug metabolomics technology. Specific transaction amounts have not been disclosed.

Phenomics Health plans to integrate the newly acquired technologies with its patented advanced pharmacogenomics platform, providing healthcare providers with a more comprehensive view than currently available to understand patients’ potential and actual responses to medications.

This patented pharmacometabolomics technology has been licensed to clinical laboratories and healthcare systems, enabling the detection, quantitative measurement, and comprehensive assessment of more than 200 drugs in patient blood. Following the acquisition, the technology will be marketed under the PrecīsMed brand.

By integrating Phenomics Health’s technology to determine the actual medications and dosages taken by patients, drug interactions, and how genes influence physiological functions, PrecīsMed generates information that helps clinicians personalize pharmacotherapy.

Dr. James S. Burns, Co-founder, Chairman, and President of Phenomics Health, stated, “This marks the first integration of advanced pharmacogenomics and pharmacometabolomics platforms. PrecīsMed can help improve patient treatment outcomes, avoid adverse drug reactions, and reduce healthcare costs—this is the true definition of precision medicine.”

Studies have found that 33% of the medications taken by patients are not documented in their medical records, and approximately 50% of prescribed medications are not taken at all. Additionally, about 55% of medications are taken at levels exceeding the recommended range, while another 50% result in significant drug interactions due to unidentified medications. A report published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings indicates that non-adherence to medication regimens leads to increased morbidity and mortality, adding approximately $100 billion annually to societal healthcare costs.

In practice, patients with comorbidities often require multiple medications, which can lead to missed doses, incorrect dosing, or overdosing. Furthermore, in theory, genes play a significant role in determining drug efficacy, disease status, drug-drug interactions, and sociocultural or environmental conditions.

Clinical studies published in 2018 demonstrated that PrecīsMed can accurately assess prescription trends, medication adherence, and electronic health record (EHR) coverage, as well as measure drug dosages in patients with comorbidities.

To identify and measure medications in a patient’s blood, only a finger-prick blood sample is required, which is then analyzed using Phenomics Health’s patented methods, algorithms, and data analytics. PrecīsMed technology is applicable for identifying medications used to treat a variety of patient conditions, including depression, anxiety, chronic pain, postoperative pain, opioid use, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, diabetes, and hypertension.

Phenomics Health also plans to mine data from previously unidentified patient populations to inform its machine learning- and artificial intelligence-based bioinformatics platform, which can be leveraged for current and future research.

“Phenomics Health’s newly enhanced platform integrates the company’s disease-drug response network with patient pharmacometabolomic profiles to improve the accuracy and predictability of drug selection,” said Dr. Brian D. Athey, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific and Technical Officer of Phenomics Health. “The information gathered through its use has the potential to redirect how clinicians prescribe and manage medications, thereby significantly improving patient responses.”

(Compiled by: Xiong Hui)