RPRD Diagnostics Launches to Bring Comprehensive Pharmacogenetics Testing

RPRD (Right Person Right Drug) Diagnostics has announced that its founding as a spin-off from the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). As a precision medicine company, RPRD Diagnostics is focused on providing comprehensive pharmacogenetics testing services, which analyze patients’ genomes for variations that are known to impact drug safety and efficacy, in a CLIA-certified lab. Bringing a cost-effective genetic screening service into routine clinical practice will enable health care providers to tailor drug prescriptions to individual patients.
 
The company, headquartered in Milwaukee, will develop clinical laboratory tests using next-generation microarray platforms and other advanced technologies. RPRD Diagnostics' unique services enable health care providers to preemptively screen a patient's genome for variations known to impact the performance or metabolism of a drug. Tailoring treatments in this way can improve patient outcomes, reduce the risk of adverse drug reactions, and lower overall costs. Additionally, the company provides supporting services for interpretation of patient genetic data and integration into electronic medical record (EMR) systems.
 
"Over the past decade, there have been major advances in pharmacogenetics, improving our understanding of how genetics contribute to an individual's response to a drug. Unfortunately, these advances have not been widely implemented due to the high cost and narrow scope of currently available tests," said Ulrich Broeckel, MD, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RPRD Diagnostics and professor of pediatrics, medicine and physiology at MCW.
 
RPRD Diagnostics specializes in offering comprehensive pharmacogenetics testing services that survey thousands of clinically actionable gene variants in parallel and provides the necessary interpretation and integration into the client's EMR systems. The company is able to achieve this goal, at a per-variant cost far below competitors, by leveraging new technology platforms developed internally and by various partners. “With the current shift toward precision medicine, and the industry focus on improving patient outcomes," said Dr. Broeckel, "RPRD Diagnostics offers unique and cost-effective solutions to help our clients develop value-based business models and to improve patient care.”
 
William Clarke, MD, Director of Research Commercialization and part of the Office of Technology Development at MCW, said, “It was exciting to assist Dr. Broeckel in the development of his new company. I am convinced that RPRD Diagnostics will bring important new clinical insights to the care of patients. This company, along with our prior spin-off companies, shows the deep expertise that MCW has in genetics."