Addiction costs the US economy $2.7 trillion a year, but Thrive Genetics CEO James Piacentino believes the deeper problem is that most people assume it's simply hereditary.

At the Civic Health Forum, Piacentino explained how his company, built on over ten years of research and $53 million in NIH funding led by geneticist Dr. Dick, developed Cares, a personalized application that helps providers understand a patient's genetic, behavioral, and environmental risk for addiction. With roughly 14,000 people tested through the underlying research and 500 run through the commercial product so far, 84% of high-risk patients changed their behavior after learning their results.

Thrive Genetics is focused on oncology and orthopedics, where high-pain procedures often require a pain medication decision, and is currently working with five companies in that space. The team is seeking investor introductions to continue scaling.