MedicaMap: A Pharmacogenomic Tool to Optimise Psychiatric Drug Therapy
For years, the shame attached to mental health made people “suffer in silence.” Especially in India, people’s perception of mental health is deeply stigmatised. However, active discussions on mental health and growing research on genetic influences on mental illness are slowly shedding the layers of stigma attached to it.
Mental illness is one of the leading causes of non-fatal disease in India. In 2017, 197.3 million people in India had mental disorders with variable severity. The initial efficacy rate for depression is up to 50% only and the remission rate is low — meaning people often experience long periods of poor symptom management and adverse drug events (ADE).
How Genetics Influences Psychiatric Drug Response
Individual variations in the response and efficacy of antidepressant treatment can be due to environmental, physiological, psychological, and genetic factors. Genes encoding drug-metabolising enzymes — particularly CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 — significantly affect the response and efficacy of psychiatric medications.
CYP2D6 metabolises most antipsychotic drugs. Variation in this gene creates poor, intermediate, and rapid metabolisers — meaning the same dose of the same drug can be toxic for one patient and ineffective for another.
Key Psychiatric Drugs and Their Pharmacogenomic Genes
| Drug Class | Genes |
|---|---|
| Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs) | CYP2D6 & CYP2C19 |
| SSRIs (Citalopram, Escitalopram, Sertraline) | CYP2D6 & CYP2C19 |
| Atypical Antipsychotics (Aripiprazole, Clozapine, Risperidone) | CYP2D6 |
| SNRIs (Atomoxetine) | CYP2D6 |
MedicaMap: Personalised Pharmacogenomic Testing
MedicaMap is MapmyGenome’s advanced, next-generation comprehensive pharmacogenomic test — assessing biomarkers to analyse an individual’s drug-response profile based on their genetic makeup. MedicaMap reports the highest clinically relevant genotype–drug associations for over 100 drug compounds, covering all FDA-recommended pharmacogenomic specifications.
MedicaMap also provides insight into Phenoconversion — a phenomenon that converts genotypic extensive metabolisers into phenotypic poor metabolisers, significantly impacting drug efficacy and drug-drug interactions.
“The efficacy and tolerability of antipsychotic medications are very low, and PGx testing would help predict the right medication.”
Find the Right Psychiatric Medication with Your DNA
MedicaMap by MapmyGenome analyses your CYP2D6, CYP2C19, and other pharmacogenomic markers to help your doctor prescribe the right psychiatric medication at the right dose — reducing trial and error, adverse events, and treatment delays.
