Riding the personalized medicine wave, AssureRx Health Inc. has found a lead investor for a Series A investment round that it hopes reaches $10 million.
The Cincinnati-area company — which sells a genetic test that helps doctors pick the right psychiatric drugs for patients, based on their genes — has raised nearly $8 million in angel funding since it was launched five years ago, VentureWire reported.
The amount of funding the company has already raised for its Series A and the identity of the lead investor are unclear. CEO James Burns didn’t immediately return a call.
In 2009, AssureRx launched its first test, GeneSightRx, which uses a cheek swab, mathematical algorithms and bioinformatics to narrow drug choices to those that work with a patient’s genes. Last year, Burns pegged the test’s annual market at $3 billion, and that’s “on the low end,” he said.
AssureRx initially is targeting neuro-psychiatric and neuro-behavioral disorders because they represent the largest unmet patient need. Future products might include tests that help doctors choose medications for patients who have neuro-degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, as well as disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity and post-traumatic stress.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Mayo Clinic are equity holders and technology collaborators. Other investors include Queen City Angels, CincyTech, the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, and Blue Chip Venture.
Burns shared his growth plans for the company in a December article in the Cincinnati Business Courier. AssureRx could have 40 employees by the end of the year, up from the current 16. Within three years, the company could have 100 employees, Burns said.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The company could be profitable within two years, and Burns hopes that its annual revenues reach $25 million within three years.
