A recent WA pilot study has found that pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing shows promise as a tool to support antidepressant prescribing for young people with depression, with early indications that it may improve clinical outcomes.
Published* in Nature portfolio journal Translational Psychiatry, the GENE-YD pilot trial conducted at the Perron Institute also demonstrated the feasibility of a larger study comparing PGx-guided antidepressant prescribing with “treatment-as-usual” in young Australians with depression.
Pharmacogenetic testing is a personalised medicine approach that examines how a person’s genetic makeup may influence their response to certain medications. The results provide an additional source of information that clinicians can consider in prescription decision making, alongside their clinical expertise, patient history, preferences, symptoms, tolerability, and other factors relevant to care.
“Findings from our pilot study, thought to be the first trial of its kind to implement a triple-blind trial design, suggest that pharmacogenetic testing may offer a practical way to make those early prescribing decisions more personalised,” said first author Bradley Roberts, PhD candidate at the Perron Institute and The University of Western Australia.
“Our triple-blind trial design meant the patients, clinicians and researchers were not aware who received gene-guided treatment versus standard care, to ensure maximum objectivity and minimise bias.
“We also found encouraging early signs that PGx-guided prescribing may improve symptoms, reduce side effects, and support quality of life.
“Finding the right antidepressant can be a long and difficult process. For young people, delays in effective treatment during an important developmental stage can affect their education, relationship building, and everyday life, as well as their trust in subsequent treatment processes.
“When used alongside clinical judgement, PGx offers an opportunity to personalise prescribing and potentially reduce the trial-and-error often involved in finding a well-tolerated and effective treatment.
“With antidepressants now among Australia’s most commonly prescribed medicines, it is increasingly important that they are prescribed as safely and effectively as possible. Even modest improvements in choosing a suitable medication earlier could reduce unnecessary medication-related side effects and help young people reach an effective treatment sooner.”
Professor Sean Hood, consultant psychiatrist at North Metropolitan Health Service and Co-Director of Suicide Prevention And Resilience Research Centre, said “This work makes a significant contribution to the development of precision medicine in psychiatry – so that we can choose the right medication for the right patient at the right time.”
Findings from studies including the GENE-YD project have informed a new implementation study, PGx-ADAPT, funded by the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation. PGx-ADAPT is a collaborative project across both metropolitan and rural WA to co-design and pilot a model for implementing PGx-guided antidepressant prescribing into primary care.
“This was a small pilot study, so larger trials are now needed,” Mr Roberts said. “But these early results give us a promising basis to test whether this approach can make a meaningful difference in routine care.”
Senior authors of the paper are Professor Jennifer Rodger (head of Brain Plasticity Research at Perron Institute and UWA), psychiatrist Professor Hood (NMHS, SPARRC, UWA), and genetics researcher Professor Anthony Akkari (Director of the Personalised Medicine Centre, Murdoch University and Perron Institute, UWA and Duke University).
Other authors are PhD candidate Zahra Cooper (Perron Institute and UWA), postdoctoral researcher Dr Aleksandra Miljevic (Perron Institute and UWA), Associate Professor Susanne Stanley (UWA), Dr Bernadette Majda (Curtin University), Dr Khan Collins (UWA and North Metropolitan Health Service, WA Dept of Health, Dr Sarah Woodland (UWA), Dr Michael Kyron (SPAARC, UWA), WA Department of Health), and Dr Svetlana Baltic (UWA, Gene S, Institute for Respiratory Health) and Suzannah Temple (UWA, Gene S, University of New South Wales).
The GENE-YD study was funded by the Sarich family, and the PGx test kits were provided by WA biotechnology company Gene S and funded by the Future Health and Innovation Fund’s Innovation Challenge.
*The final version on record of the paper was published on 21 October 2026.
October is Mental Health Awareness Month in Australia.