First Published Clinical Study Successfully Uses Precision Medicine To Predict Prescription Opioid Abuse

IRVINE, Calif., April 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As a Bronze Sponsor of the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, Proove® Biosciences, Inc. announces the first-ever peer-reviewed published clinical study analyzing genetics, environmental, and lifestyle factors to accurately predict prescription opioid abuse. In this study, researchers from the University of Southern California (USC), the Interventional Pain Institute in Baltimore, and Proove publish results showing that Proove Opioid Risk® accurately identifies patients at risk for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).

This study, An Observational Study to Calculate Additive Risk to Opioids: A Validation Study of a Predictive Algorithm to Evaluate Opioid Use Disorder (O.S.C.A.R.), is published in the international peer-reviewed journal, Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine (Impact Factor: 4.21). In this trial, researchers evaluated 908 pain patients using opioids, 258 subjects with OUD versus 650 controls. The O.S.C.A.R. study demonstrates that Proove Opioid Risk® is a precision medicine technology that successfully stratifies patient risk. Compared to "low" risk patients, "moderate" and "high" risk patients had increased odds of OUD (4.17-fold and 16.5-fold, respectively, with 95.7% sensitivity). .

"This study suggests that Proove Opioid Risk® is more accurate than questionnaires like the SOAPP-R in identifying patients who abuse opioids. It's an excellent tool useful in guiding responsible pain treatment," explains study author Dr. Maneesh Sharma, Medical Director of the Interventional Pain Institute in Baltimore. 

Dr. Svetlana Kantorovich, Proove®'s R&D Director explains, "This is the first of many peer-reviewed publications over the next several months demonstrating the validity of Proove Opioid Risk®, building on the existing published evidence for each algorithm component."

Study author, Dr. Steven Richeimer, Director of USC's Pain Management Center and Associate Clinical Professor at the USC Keck School of Medicine, explains, "Precision medicine can potentially help physicians choose more effective treatments (similar to targeted cancer therapies), decrease iatrogenic addictions and overdoses by prescreening patients, and possibly even aid in the diagnosis of pain conditions."

Proove Opioid Risk® is a proprietary precision medicine profile consisting of an algorithm which analyzes 17 variables (11 genetic and 6 lifestyle and behavioral factors) individually supported by over 30 peer-reviewed publications correlated with narcotic addiction and related behaviors. Balancing these factors (42% genetic and 58% non-genetic), Proove Opioid Risk® may assist in solving the prescription drug abuse epidemic.

About Proove® Biosciences: Proove® Biosciences is the leader in precision medicine for the condition that lies at the nexus of health – pain. Proove® delivers precision medicine solutions for the nation's most prevalent and expensive health condition by investing heavily in research that has won awards from leading medical societies and been published in peer-reviewed journals.  Discovered by NIH-funded scientists, Proove® has translated into clinical practice the genetic variants and phenotypic factors contributing to pain sensitivity and chronic pain risk. Proove®'s medical advisory board is led by those NIH-funded researchers and the company has licensed some of its technology from leading academic centers such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Positioned as The Healthcare Decision Company,™ Proove®'s patented technology platform combines genetic, clinical, environmental and lifestyle information to help clinicians better evaluate pain sensitivity, assess risk for opioid use disorder, predict therapeutic response to pain medications, and assess drug metabolism for the many medications used in chronic pain patients. Based in Irvine, CA. Proove® is recognized on the Inc. 500 and the Deloitte Fast500 as one of the fastest growing companies in NA. For more information, please visit www.proove.com or call toll free 855-PROOVE-BIO (855-776-6832).

SOURCE Proove Biosciences, Inc.