Food and Drug Administration Indicates DNA Testing For Antidepressants May Be Ineffective

Pharmacogenetic testing, also called DNA Drug Sensitive Testing or PGx Testing, allows doctors and other healthcare providers to use genetics to determine how individuals might react to specific medications.  PGx testing has been particularly useful in determining which antidepressants will work best for a patient, especially when a patient starts or changes therapy, or when a healthcare provider wants to personalize the prescribing of antidepressant drugs.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has become aware that healthcare providers may have inappropriately chosen patients’ antidepressants and other medications based on inaccurate PGx Tests.  The FDA has communicated with Myriad Genetics, Genomind, Inova, and OneOme about the accuracy of their PGx Testing products, and other firms, like Color and Admera Health, have stopped listing information about pharmacogenetic testing on their website.  These reports call into question the important healthcare decisions made by patients and doctors who rely on PGx testing to treat depression and other serious illnesses.

If you or your doctor has relied on PGx Testing to determine whether an antidepressant will work, please contact us immediately to discuss your legal options. The attorneys at Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP have successfully prosecuted numerous consumer protection actions, and we look forward to discussing your case.