Seattle Business magazine’s annual award is based primarily on anonymous input from employees; winners are then selected from a panel of distinguished local business leaders. Employees are surveyed about what makes them happy with their work – on topics from company leadership, benefits, work environment, and innovation in training programs. The awards were presented Tuesday evening at the magazine’s Award Gala.

Founded in 1987, Genelex has been on a fast-track trajectory of growth since it began focusing on pharmacogenetic testing (also known as drug sensitivity testing) in 2000.  The company’s mission, “science that benefits humanity,” as well as its people-first, entrepreneurial environment make it a highly attractive employer.

“We’ve grown from a small, family-owned company to now employing more than 100 people,” says Howard Coleman, Genelex co-founder and CEO. “It’s gratifying to see our caring company culture and commitment to quality continue while growing at such a high rate. It’s exciting to meet and hire the young professionals motivated by our culture and potential, as we continue to make advances that have a real positive impact on healthcare.”

According to Seattle Business magazine, a record number of companies large and small from all over the state entered this competition. “To make the list this year especially, when so many did not, is a powerful statement about how winning companies treat their people,” notes Michael Romoser, associate publisher of Seattle Business.

To learn more about Genelex and current employment opportunities, please visit www.genelex.jp.

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About Genelex

Genelex is a pioneer in comprehensive medication management, pharmacogenetic testing and analysis. Its patented YouScript^® Personalized Prescribing System is the only medication management system to assess the cumulative effect of a patient’s genetics and entire drug regimen to help prevent unwanted side effects and treatment failures.  YouScript was a finalist in the Allscripts Open App Challenge, and is used by healthcare providers, clinical researchers and managed and accountable care organizations. Founded in 1987, Genelex is based in Seattle and was one of the first labs to provide pharmacogenetic testing and interpretation.  For more information, contact the company at 800.TEST.DNA or visit www.genelex.jp or www.youscript.com.

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Seattle (June 5, 2014) – Why do some patients react differently to the same drug?

A new study quantifies – for the first time – the role genotypes may play in causing adverse drug reactions.

The research, published in the current issue of Pharmacogenomics, showed that a combined 33.9 percent of all potential, clinically significant drug interactions were due to drug-gene and drug-drug-gene interactions.  These potential interactions are entirely missed by electronic health records and drug interaction software currently used by physicians, pharmacists, nurses and physician assistants.

An individual’s genetic type, or genotype combined with multiple drugs, can affect their ability to clear or metabolize a medication, in some cases causing adverse effects.  Genetic testing, together with predictive computer algorithms, can now improve a medical professional’s ability to better manage drug regimens for at-risk individuals, beyond what is possible with drug-drug interaction data only.

“How Common are Drug and Gene Interactions?  Prevalence in a Sample of 1143 Patients with CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 Genotyping”authored by P. Verbeurgt, T. Mamiya and J. Oesterheld, details the results of a pilot study conducted in 2013 to understand the frequency of drug-drug (DDI), drug-gene (DGI) and drug-drug-gene (DDGI) interactions.

Of the 1053 cases of “substantial or major” clinical interactions identified, the study found that when compared with DDIs alone (which account for 66.1 percent of interactions), DGIs and DDGIs increased the total number by 51.3 percent.

The authors conclude from this initial study that drug-gene and drug-drug-gene interactions may comprise more than a third of all potential, clinically significant drug interactions, and, that the number of drug interactions due to DDGIs was greater than DGIs (see Figure 1).  This represents a large population that may be having adverse drug reactions due to DGIs and DDGIs.  They recommend further studies to better determine the frequency of these previously undetected adverse drug reactions.

“Adverse drug reactions are a costly public health problem,” says Tyler Mamiya, a clinical pharmacist and one of the study’s co-authors.  “Given the proportion of patients that take more than one medication, measuring drug-drug-gene interactions is of particular importance.  This research is the beginning of building a measured evidence base of possible interactions and takes us a step closer to truly personalized individual drug therapies.”

About the Study

The authors’ retrospective analysis included a population of 1143 patients who underwent CYP polymorphism testing and submitted a list of their medications — including FDA-approved prescriptions, OTC drugs, and herbal products or supplements.

To identify all potential interactions, the authors used the YouScript^® software, a database and patented algorithm, to determine if the interaction was a DDI, DGI or DDGI.

The algorithm sums up all interactive effects, and generates a final rating of the clinical warning. Predictions made by the software were then independently confirmed by two clinical pharmacists.

View a summary of the study online or read the full text at Medscape.com. The authors may be contacted at pharmacist@genelex.jp.

Figure 1

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About Genelex

Genelex is a pioneer in comprehensive medication management, pharmacogenetic testing and analysis. Its patented YouScript^® Personalized Prescribing System is the only medication management system to assess the cumulative effect of a patient’s genetics and entire drug regimen.  YouScript was a finalist in the Allscripts Open App Challenge, and is used by healthcare providers, clinical researchers and managed and accountable care organizations. Founded in 1987, Genelex is based in Seattle and was one of the first labs to provide pharmacogenetic testing and interpretation.

The post Genetics a Missing Factor in Predicting Adverse Drug Reactions appeared first on Genelex.

SEATTLE, WA—December 17, 2013— Genelex, a pioneer in personalized medicine and genetics-based medication management, today announced formation of its Clinical Advisory Board. The diverse group of experts will help inform the development and clinical utility of the YouScript Personalized Prescribing System, which combines risk analysis, interpretive software, pharmacogenetic testing and pharmacist consultations to help doctors optimize complex medication regimens. Widely viewed as the most comprehensive medication management system available, YouScript enables healthcare providers to quickly determine when genetic testing could help guide treatment and whether prescribed medications are likely to cause adverse side effects or fail to work.

The Genelex Clinical Advisory Board, consists of experts in patient care, health insurance reimbursement, clinical research and pharmacology, and includes the following members:

• Dr. Charles Cefalu Professor and Chief of Geriatric Medicine at Louisiana State University (LSUHSC) and the Program Director for the LSUHSC Geriatric Medicine Fellowship. He is on the Board of Directors of the American Geriatrics Society and Chair of the Clinical Practice Committee of the American Medical Director’s Association (AMDA).
• Dr. Linda Delo 2010-2011 President of the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association (FOMA) and an active member of FOMA since 1986. She has been in private family practice for more than 25 years and is in the process of becoming a National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Level 3 Patient Centered Medical Home. She also participates and serves on the board of Florida Physician’s Trust, one of the first advanced payment model accountable care organizations.
• Dr. Dave Durham Consulting neuropsychiatrist at Sage Neuroscience Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico, School of Medicine. He is the current Chair of the Board of Governors of the American College of Neurocognitive Medicine. In 2008 he co-founded the Neuroscience Research Institute and worked on a multi-disciplinary research team studying the clinical efficacy of pharmacogenetics in psychiatry.
• Dave Garets Semi-retired former President and CEO of HIMSS Analytics and Executive Vice President of HIMSS. He has also held executive positions at Healthlink, Gartner and The Advisory Board Company. He is currently a Principal at Mountain Summit Advisors, providing M&A, recapitalization/financing and consulting services to private healthcare IT firms and a governing board member of Health Care DataWorks and the Northwest Network of PeaceHealth.
• Robert Gregory A consultant with extensive industry knowledge and experience in managed care, long-term care and hospital pharmacy. He has more than 30 years of experience as a practicing pharmacist and healthcare manager. His most recent experience was as a Pharmacy Director for Aetna Pharmacy Management. He also supported Aetna Pharmacy’s initiatives relating to the integration of pharmacy with other medical programs.
• Holly Whitcomb Henry A board certified pharmacotherapy specialist, 2008-2009 President of the National Community Pharmacist Association (NCPA), past President of the Washington State Pharmacy Association and CEO of Rxtra Care, Inc. She is also a member of NCPA’s political action committee.
• Dr. Forest Tennant Former US Army Medical Officer and Public Health Physician who established a pain clinic in 1975 primarily for cancer and post-polio patients. He has published over 300 articles primarily on pain, addiction and neurochemistry. For more than 10 years, he has been the Editor-in-Chief of Practical Pain Management circulated to 47,000 physicians who treat pain patients.
• Dr. R. Jeffery Westcott Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, where he has be a practicing cardiologist since 1978. He is a member of the American College of Cardiology’s task force on healthcare informatics and is Chairman of the Cardiology Steering Board for Epic Systems Corporation, a major EHR vendor.

“Adverse drug events are the fourth leading cause of death in America and cost the US health system more than 289 billion dollars annually. This could be substantially reduced if patient genetics were considered before prescribing,” said Kristine Ashcraft, Chief Operating Officer at Genelex. “Our Clinical Advisory Board will play a pivotal role in making it easy for physicians to use tools like YouScript to make genetics-based prescribing decisions at the point of care.

About Genelex
Genelex is a pioneer in comprehensive medication management, pharmacogenetic testing and analysis. Its patented YouScript® Personalized Prescribing System is the only medication management system to assess the cumulative effect of a patient’s genetics and entire drug regimen. YouScript was a finalist in the Allscripts Open App Challenge, and is used by healthcare providers, clinical researchers and managed and accountable care organizations. Founded in 1987, Genelex is based in Seattle and was one of the first labs to provide pharmacogenetic testing and interpretation. For more information, please go to: www.genelex.jp or www.youscript.com.

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After a record-breaking time of expansion, Genelex makes Puget Sound Business Journal’s prestigious list of top 100 fastest-growing private companies in 2013.  Read full article.

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For more information, go to http://www.youscript.com

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