Combinatorial Pharmacogenomics Testing in Treatment-Naïve Major Depressive Disorder
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03537547 |
Recruitment Status :
Terminated
(Per sponsor and PI institution discussions)
First Posted : May 25, 2018
Last Update Posted : June 5, 2020
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Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
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Major Depressive Disorder Depression Depressive Disorder Depressive Episode Depression, Unipolar | Other: GeneSight Psychotropic test Drug: FDA-approved antidepressant or antipsychotic treatment | Phase 4 |
Major Depressive Disorder is a chronic psychiatric illness that leads to devastating consequences at the individual and societal levels. Today, the choice of treatment continues to be largely based on subjective factors, primarily the clinician and/or patient's preferences, as well as the individual's history of response to treatment, often tainted by recall bias. Psychiatric medication decisions are even more arbitrary when the subject in question has not had past treatment trials. This often leads to a trial and error process and an increasingly resistant disease with each failed trial. Early implementation of an objective tool designed for tailoring medication choice to an individual may prove highly beneficial in decreasing illness chronicity, individual suffering, and economic burden.
GeneSight Psychotropic test is a pharmacogenomic decision support tool, developed to help clinicians make informed, evidence-based decisions about proper drug selection. Therefore, we propose conducting a randomized, double blind, controlled trial to evaluate the impact of the GeneSight Psychotropic test to guide treatment decisions in patients with treatment-naïve (never having taken medication for depression) Major Depressive Disorder.
This study will involve 6 visits over about 24 weeks where participants will be randomized to have their study clinician have access to their pharmacogenetic report in order to make treatment decisions, or to not have access to their report for the first 12 weeks. At Visit 5, Week 12, all participants will receive a copy of their pharmacogenetics report and all clinicians will be unblinded to be able to use the results to guide treatment options for an additional 12 weeks.
Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Actual Enrollment : | 6 participants |
Allocation: | Randomized |
Intervention Model: | Parallel Assignment |
Intervention Model Description: | Participants will be randomized to have their study clinician have access to their pharmacogenetic report (provide through the GeneSight Psychotropic tool) in order to make treatment decisions, or to not have access to their report for the first 12 weeks. At Visit 5, Week 12, all participants will receive a copy of their pharmacogenetics report and all clinicians will be unblinded for 'open label' to be able to use the results to guide treatment options for an additional 12 weeks. |
Masking: | Double (Participant, Outcomes Assessor) |
Masking Description: | Coordinators at site are blinded, Sponsor and associates are unblinded. |
Primary Purpose: | Treatment |
Official Title: | Combinatorial Pharmacogenomics Testing in Treatment-Naïve Major Depressive Disorder |
Actual Study Start Date : | May 4, 2018 |
Actual Primary Completion Date : | August 19, 2019 |
Actual Study Completion Date : | August 19, 2019 |

Arm | Intervention/treatment |
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Experimental: GeneSight Psychotropic test
Participants randomized to have their study clinician have access to their pharmacogenetic report (provided through the GeneSight Psychotropic tool) in order to make treatment decisions for the first 12 weeks. At Visit 5, Week 12, participants will receive a copy of their pharmacogenetics report and clinicians will continue to be able to use the results to guide treatment options for an additional 12 weeks.
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Other: GeneSight Psychotropic test
GeneSight Psychotropic test, developed by AssureRx Health, is a genetic test that analyses pre-selected pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics genes and results in a composite phenotype and interpretive report, addressing both safety and efficacy of psychiatric medications.
Other Name: GeneSight test Drug: FDA-approved antidepressant or antipsychotic treatment Participant is treated with medications included in the GeneSight Psychotropic product. |
Active Comparator: Treatment As Usual
Participants randomized to treatment as usual will receive treatment from study clinicians who do not have access to the participant's report for the first 12 weeks. At Visit 5, Week 12, participants will receive a copy of their pharmacogenetics report and clinicians will be unblinded to be able to use the results to guide treatment options for an additional 12 weeks.
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Drug: FDA-approved antidepressant or antipsychotic treatment
Participant is treated with medications included in the GeneSight Psychotropic product. |
- Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression change score- Week 8 [ Time Frame: Baseline to Week 8 ]17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17) to assess mean change in depressive symptoms severity. Total range of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression is 0 to 52, with a greater score being an indication of more severe depressive symptoms.
- Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression change score- Week 4 [ Time Frame: Baseline to end of week 4 ]17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17) to assess mean change in depressive symptoms severity. Total range of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression is 0 to 52, with a greater score being an indication of more severe depressive symptoms.
- Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression change score- Week 12 [ Time Frame: Baseline to end of week 12 ]17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17) to assess mean change in depressive symptoms severity. 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17) to assess mean change in depressive symptoms severity. Total range of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression is 0 to 52, with a greater score being an indication of more severe depressive symptoms.
- Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression change score- Week 24 [ Time Frame: Baseline to end of week 24 ]17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17) to assess mean change in depressive symptoms severity. 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17) to assess mean change in depressive symptoms severity. Total range of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression is 0 to 52, with a greater score being an indication of more severe depressive symptoms.

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years to 65 Years (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria:
- Adults 18-65 years of age
- Treatment-naïve major depressive disorder meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 4th Edition (DSM-IV) criteria, without psychosis
- Total baseline score on the Quick Inventory Of Depressive Symptomatology Clinician-rated (QIDS-C16) and the Quick Inventory Of Depressive Symptomatology Self-Report (QIDS-SR16) rating scale ≥11
- Good command of the English language
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients with a current diagnosis of schizophrenia
- Patients with a current diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder
- Patients with a current diagnosis of bipolar disorder (any type)
- Currently meeting DSM-IV criteria for significant substance use disorder (exception: nicotine use disorder)
- A diagnosis of personality disorder that may interfere with the patient's ability to improve on pharmacologic treatment, as determined by study investigator
- Patients currently receiving electroconvulsive therapy(ECT), deep brain stimulation (DBS) or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment
- History of hypothyroidism unless taking a stable dose of thyroid medication and asymptomatic or euthyroid for 6 months
- Significant unstable medical condition; life threatening disease; hepatic insufficiency; liver transplant recipient; cirrhosis of the liver; need for therapies that may obscure the results of treatment and/or of the study; malignancy (except basal cell carcinoma) and/or chemotherapy within 1 year prior to screening; malignancy more than 1 year prior to screening must have been local and without metastasis and/or recurrence, and if treated with chemotherapy, without nervous system complications
- History of gastric bypass surgery
- Acute suicidal intention and/or in need of immediate hospitalization as judged by the investigator
- Active psychotic symptoms
- Currently in an inpatient facility
- History of prior pharmacogenomic testing
- Currently pregnant or lactating
- Inability to provide informed consent
- Any other factor that in the investigators' judgment may affect patient safety or compliance

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT03537547
United States, Missouri | |
Washington University School of Medicine | |
Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, 63110 |
Principal Investigator: | Charles Conway, MD | Washington University School of Medicine |
Responsible Party: | Washington University School of Medicine |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT03537547 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
201609109 |
First Posted: | May 25, 2018 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | June 5, 2020 |
Last Verified: | June 2020 |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: | No |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: | No |
treatment naive major depression pharmacotherapy pharmacogenomic genomics |
Disease Depression Depressive Disorder Depressive Disorder, Major Pathologic Processes Behavioral Symptoms Mood Disorders |
Mental Disorders Antipsychotic Agents Antidepressive Agents Psychotropic Drugs Tranquilizing Agents Central Nervous System Depressants Physiological Effects of Drugs |