A new manuscript from the IGNITE Pragmatic Trials Network has been published in JAMA Network Open, describing results from the ADOPT PGx Depression trial. The randomized clinical trial evaluated whether genotype-guided prescribing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) could improve treatment outcomes for patients with depression.

The study enrolled 1,460 adults and children receiving care in primary care, psychiatry, and family medicine clinics across the United States. Researchers examined whether using pharmacogenetic information related to CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 — genes that influence how individuals metabolize antidepressants — could help guide SSRI prescribing and improve depression outcomes compared with usual care.

Among participants with actionable genetic phenotypes, genotype-guided prescribing did not significantly improve depression symptom scores at 3 months, the study’s primary endpoint. However, patients in the genotype-guided group experienced higher rates of depression remission at 6 months compared with those receiving usual care, suggesting a potential longer-term benefit of pharmacogenetic-informed prescribing.

The findings add important evidence to ongoing efforts to understand how precision medicine approaches may support more individualized treatment strategies for depression and improve antidepressant response over time.

Read the publication here.