GenXys
GenXys is a software company specializing in precision prescribing software with a pedigree in pharmacogenetics. Their software, TreatGx, is a digital assistant for prescribers, enabling optimized and personalized medication options to be presented to healthcare professionals in real time. Their proprietary solutions incorporate pharmacogenetics along with the other health data points to assist in guiding the right personalized medication decisions. GenXys’ solutions are used across Canada and the US to increase patient safety, improve population health, and reduce healthcare costs. GenXys is transforming the centuries-old approach of ‘trial and error’ to one which is digitally automated with evidence based algorithms to assist clinicians in making the right choice.
There are three core competencies which set GenXys apart from the competition. Firstly, their credibility: they focus on using only the highest levels of pharmacogenetic evidence. This ensures that the medication options their technology presents are based on established and recommended clinical guidelines and treatment options that adhere to robust global evidence. Secondly, the breadth and depth of their software: TreatGx is a leader in the field because it factors in all the different health variables required for accurate options to be displayed from the algorithms. Finally, the user interface: TreatGx has had ‘thousands’ of hours of road testing which has enabled the user interface to be refined. First of all, the output is based on medication specific to the condition being treated taking into account all prescribing factors rather than being a largely unhelpful list of all medications. Their software helps to automate the medication selection process with user-specific interfaces which maximizes user adoption, value, and repeated use. Importantly, their software fits into the clinical workflow process, directly after initial condition diagnosis, either in standalone mode or through an integration with Electronic Health Records (EHR’s) and other health technologies.
Traction
GenXys currently have ~1,500 TreatGx software users, which is split 40% healthcare providers and 60% individuals. Individual healthcare providers are using the solution for more and more of their patients and prescription decisions. Distribution agreements are in place across Canada with key national and regional pharmacist chains including Pharmasave, London Drugs, Pure Pharmacy, and Save-on-Foods. A number of large Canadian employers and benefit providers, such as SunLife and TELUS Health, one of Canada’s largest health companies, are established users of their solutions. More recently, Canada’s 4th largest insurance company, Green Shield Canada, invested in GenXys.
Early-stage traction in the US is building. They have three new US customers including CentraState Health, a health network based in New Jersey. The subject matter expert in genetics at UMass Memorial health network commented after a deep dive into their solution: “I have been waiting 15 years for the promise of pharmacogenetics”. GenXys are working hard to increase their footprint and awareness in the US.
The biggest hurdle that GenXys have their sights set on is getting past the $1m in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) mark. To achieve this they are focusing on customer acquisition across both Canada and in the US market with their proven products. During the COVID lockdown they have had a lot of interest in how pharmacogenetics can help and how medication decision support tools can help with digital and virtual care models. As a result, they have a lot of pent up demand. As the lockdown eases, GenXys plans on taking advantage of the accelerated adoption of digital and virtual care by care providers and patients. Their products are proven, in market, and have a number of established ROI driven use cases.
Team
Martin Dawes MB.BS, MD, FRCGP, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Co-Founder – Professor Martin Dawes is a world expert in primary care who combines research and clinical practice with over 30 years of experience. Following the completion of his PhD, he helped develop a Masters program in Evidence Based Health Care. He has directed the UK Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine in Oxford and was the head of family practice at McGill University and the University of British Columbia.
Karl Pringle, Chief Executive Officer – Karl Pringle is guiding GenXys through a transition from a pharmacogenetics company to a software business specializing in medication decision support software to enable accuracy in medication selection. Drawing on years of experience of launching early stage, minimally viable software applications to market on a tight budget and building them into dominant best in class applications, he has been galvanizing the team around a clear vision and creating a foundational following in the market. With his extensive sales and marketing background, drive, and determination, he has already reshaped the business so it is positioned to be the authoritative market leader and is able to compete effectively in the US market and beyond. Karl has been heavily involved in simplifying the message and orchestrating process adoption and standardization in order to ensure revenue generation, scalability, and repeatability whilst enhancing the team culture.
Mark Gelfer, Chairman of the Board – Mark Gelfer is currently a practicing physician and chairman of GenXys. Mark was Founder & Medical Director of VSM MedTech, a TSX-listed medical device company. Their office BP measurement device became a standard of care globally. As a member of the Hypertension Canada guidelines committee from 2006 he worked closely with Martin Dawes who had been working on BP measurement accuracy for many years.
Funding
GenXys have raised over $6M through various financing rounds and grants. From the outset they worked with Genome BC, a consortium of pharma companies, and TELUS to put together a package of $750k to start development work into how to include pharmacogenetics into the prescribing process. GenXys then worked closely with NRC and over several years received funding for R&D work to get to a point of differentiation in the market and the ability to commercialize.
Their seed round funding closed in Q1 2020, and was led by one of Canada’s largest insurance companies, GreenShield Canada, and TELUS Ventures, who tripled down on their original investment. The company is not looking to secure funding at this time, but when they are, it will be to expand market dominance, meaning more customer acquisition and support resources and to expand into machine learning and AI techniques. They are intent on expanding their team this year by bringing through business development, customer engagement, and dedicated product management capacity.
Revenue Model
GenXys license their software on an annual subscription basis. Their customer segments and routes to market are manifold, with their primary focus falling on B2B sales with enterprise health systems and insurance/payer accounts in North America. Healthcare provider organizations and health IT companies which are enabling quality care improvements in both virtual and physical care models are perfect for their solutions. Insurance companies looking to offer innovative health offerings to their plan sponsors which enable increased patient safety and medication effectiveness as well as a reduction in healthcare costs are also very suitable.
Details
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