Assurex Health, a personalized medicine company that provides clinically-relevant individualized genetic information to help physicians select the right medication for patients with depression, anxiety, chronic pain, ADHD and other neuropsychiatric disorders, announced that it has secured a $25 million term and revolving credit facility to support increasing clinical adoption of its GeneSight products.
GE Capital, Healthcare Financial Services, acting as Agent, and Silicon Valley Bank financed the credit facility. Existing investors, including funds managed by Sequoia Capital, Claremont Creek Ventures, Mayo Clinic, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, CincyTech, Allos Ventures, Four Rivers Partners, Danmar Capital, and jVen Capital, provided an additional $7 million to complete the $32 million financing. The new financing will help Assurex Health continue building the leading neuropsychiatric personalized medicine company.
"We are delighted to have GE Capital lead this financing. Together with continuing financial support from Silicon Valley Bank, we have great partners to help support the rapid growth of Assurex Health," said James S. Burns, Chief Executive Officer of Assurex Health. "Our mission is to help clinicians improve the treatment outcomes of patients. We are committed to being the leader in neuropsychiatric pharmacogenomics and will continue adding proven genetic variants and new medications to enhance our GeneSight products. With the additional funding this facility provides, we can continue to support our growth trajectory."
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), an estimated 25 percent of U.S. adults have a mental illness and nearly half will develop at least one during their lifetime. The effects of these illnesses range from daily living disruptions to incapacitating personal, social and occupational impairments and premature death. CDC estimates that these illnesses cost the U.S. economy at least $300 billion per year.
"Our combination of healthcare knowledge and structuring expertise means our customers have access to the capital they need to fund growth and other strategic initiatives," said Neil Bonanno, senior vice president of Life Sciences for GE Capital, Healthcare Financial Services. "We are pleased to support Assurex Health during this exciting time in the company's commercial growth."
Assurex Health has four products powered by GeneSight combinatorial pharmacogenomic technology. Earlier this month, the company announced major upgrades to two of them: the Psychotropic and Analgesic tests. GeneSight Psychotropic provides individualized treatment information about patient response to 38 antidepressant and antipsychotic medications. GeneSight Analgesic provides clinicians with a genetic-based tool to help evaluate medication responses for patients with acute or chronic pain to 22 medications in four drug classes: opioids, NSAIDs, muscle relaxants, and opioid dependency.