AssureRx Health raises $11M for neuropsychiatric pharmacogenetics development

Cincinnati, Ohio — AssureRx Health, Inc., a personalized medicine company that provides information to help physicians select the right drug and dosage for individual patients suffering from neuropsychiatric and other disorders, has announced the closing of an $11 million Series B financing. The fund will be used to expand direct sales and marketing for the company's first product, GeneSightRx, and for second generation product development activities.

The financing was led by Claremont Creek Ventures and Sequoia Capital and included participation of existing investors Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Mayo Clinic and CincyTech, as well as new investor Allos Ventures. John Steuart and Dr. Brad Webb of Claremont Creek Ventures have joined the AssureRx board of directors, increasing board membership to seven.

"Our goal is to build the leading medical informatics company providing pharmacogenetic and other treatment decision support products to help physicians individualize the treatment of patients with neuropsychiatric and other disorders," said James S. Burns, president and CEO of AssureRx. "Claremont Creek and Sequoia bring to AssureRx a wealth of experience and capabilities in informatics, life science, internet marketing, and international business development. Their investment brings substantial strength to our medical informatics platform."

Steuart, managing director of Claremont Creek said, "Venture capital firms such as ours see the opportunity for disruptive change springing from new discoveries in human genetics. AssureRx has enormous potential as an early leader in the transformation of neuropsychiatric treatment toward individualized patient treatment. GeneSightRx and future treatment decision support products hold the promise for faster, better patient outcomes and less costly care for psychiatric conditions such as clinical depression, anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia."

Warren Hogarth, partner at Sequoia Capital, said, "AssureRx products have the potential to provide significant assistance to physicians worldwide in selecting the appropriate medication for their patients. AssureRx is at the cutting edge of this trend as they address a very large existing market. We look forward to helping them build a world class company."

From a simple cheek swab, the GeneSightRx technology measures and analyzes clinically important genetic variants that determine how a patient's unique genetic make-up affects his or her ability to tolerate or effectively respond to psychotropic medications. Patient-specific genetic information obtained through GeneSightRx can assist physicians in the process of selecting appropriate antidepressant and antipsychotic medications for individual patients.