Salugen Biosciences Genomic Pain Medicine is an Ideal Pharmaceutical Cost-Containment Program

 

Genetic testing can help cut costs by bringing rationale utilization of healthcare resources, create jobs, and improve survival rates for many common diseases where pain often is debilitating to patients and costly to payers.

According to Alan Mertz, president of the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA). "Genetic testing is going to be a powerful and increasingly important tool in helping public and private payers get control of over-utilization and inappropriate utilization of health care resources," said Mertz in a recent presentation.

"An estimated $30-110 billion every year could be saved by using genetic tests to select the drug that precisely matches the genetic fingerprint of the patient," said Mertz.

Every year, the U.S. spends about $300 billion on pharmaceuticals, he explained. But studies show that anywhere from 20-75% of patients do not respond to drug therapy, often due to drug interactions or incorrect dosing. Roughly half of the time, it is due to a molecular mismatch between the patient and the pharmaceutical, said Mertz.

"But if we provide patients with more targeted therapy — based upon their own, unique genomic profile — we have clear potential to address some of this inappropriate care," he added.

Mertz also cited a recently released Battelle report that found that between 1988 and 2010, human genome sequencing projects -- which includes genetic testing -- generated $796 billion in U.S. economic output, $244 billion in personal income for Americans, and 3.8 million job-years of employment.

"Genetic testing offers new tools to help us manage disease and use our healthcare resources wisely," said Mertz. "It also opens a world of economic potential in jobs, growth, and output."

Chronic pain costs society $558B per year - more than the nation's leading killer - heart disease.(1) In the world of workers compensation claims, a ten-year old claim uses ten-times (10X) the number of prescriptions and costs of a claim in the first year.(2) All of this unnecessary cost leads to the mean annual direct health costs for opioid abusers are more than eight-times (8X) higher than non-abusers ($15,884 versus $1,830, respectively, p<0.01) (3)

Salugen Biosciences Genomic Pain Medicine testing provides patients, physicians, and payers with a cost-effective solution to pharmaceutical cost-containment by introducing laboratory-directed decision-making around therapeutic selection, dosing, and maintenance. 


1 - Lauran Neergard, Report Sheds Light on Chronic Pain, AZ Central. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/07/03/20110703chronic-pain-report-0703.html

2 - 2010 NCCI State of Line Report

3 - White AG, et al Direct costs of opioid abuse in an insured population in the United States. J Manag Care Pharm. 2005 Jul-Aug;11(6):469-79