Proove Biosciences and USC to Investigate the Impact of Genetic Variations on Chronic Pain Treatment

SAN PABLO, Calif. - Nov. 2, 2015 - PRLog -- IRVINE, CA (September XX, 2015) Proove Biosciences, a commercial and research leader in personalized medicine, is excited to announce their partnership with the Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) Pain Center to study the genetics of chronic pain.

The T.R.O.J.A.N. Study (Therapeutic Evaluation to Research Clinical Objectives Linking Genotypic and Phenotypic Association with Pain Outcomes) is one of the largest studies of its kind. The initial stage of T.R.O.J.A.N. will be a one-year longitudinal observational study of 2000 chronic pain patients. The Keck Medicine of USC Pain Center researchers, led by Steven Richeimer, M.D., a triple board certified physician in Anesthesiology, Psychiatry, and Pain Management, hopes to gain more understanding of the genetic predisposition to chronic pain and also how a patient’s genetic makeup influences treatment outcomes.

“People respond differently to treatment modalities because of numerous factors,” Richeimer says. “We want to explore genetic influences behind the variability of responses to both pharmacological and behavioral chronic pain treatments, which may ultimately lead to better pain relief for patients and help reduce the chances of adverse reactions to medications.”

Chronic pain is a significant public health issue in the U.S., accounting for $635 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity, according to the National Academy’s Institute of Medicine. More than 100 million Americans live with chronic pain that affects their daily functioning and quality of life.

“We are excited to partner with the University of Southern California and the Keck School of Medicine,” said Brian Meshkin, founder and CEO of Proove Biosciences. “By analyzing the genetic influences of this sample set, we will gather significant insight about the impact of genetic testing for chronic pain. This collaboration is a very important step toward improving treatments and outcomes for people living with chronic pain.”

The Keck Medicine of USC Pain Center in Los Angeles, Calif. is a multi-modality pain center  specializing in a comprehensive approach to pain treatment. An exceptional team of pain specialists provides assessment and treatment for patients with complex and refractory pain problems.

ABOUT KECK MEDICINE OF USC

Keck Medicine of USC is the University of Southern California's medical enterprise, one of only two university-based medical systems in the Los Angeles area. Encompassing academic, research and clinical excellence, the medical system attracts internationally renowned experts who teach and practice at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the region’s first medical school; includes the renowned USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of the first comprehensive cancer centers established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States; has a medical faculty practice, the USC Care Medical Group; operates the Keck Medical Center of USC, which includes two acute care hospitals: 401-licensed bed Keck Hospital of USC and 60-licensed bed USC Norris Cancer Hospital; and owns USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, a 158-licensed bed community hospital. It also includes more than 40 outpatient facilities, some at affiliated hospitals, in Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Tulare and Ventura counties.

In 2015, U.S. News & World Report ranked Keck Medical Center of USC among the Top 10 in ophthalmology and among the Top 50 hospitals in the United States for urology and cancer care.

For more information, go to www.keckmedicine.org/beyond

About Proove Biosciences

Our Mission is to Change the Future of Medicine. Proove is the proof to improve healthcare decisions. We seek to realize a future when clinicians look back and wonder how they could have ever prescribed medications without knowing how a patient would respond. With offices in Southern California and the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, the Company is the research leader investigating and publishing data on the genetics of personalized pain medicine with clinical research sites across the United States. Physicians use Proove Biosciences testing to improve outcomes – both safety and efficacy of medical treatment. From a simple cheek swab collected in the office, Proove performs proprietary genetic tests in its CLIA-certified laboratory to identify patients at risk for misuse of prescription pain medications and evaluate their metabolism of medications. For more information, please visit http://www.proove.com or call toll free 855-PROOVE-BIO (855-776-6832).