It was announced today that AncestryDNA have partnered with a company called Quest Diagnostics. This new partnership will allow AncestryDNA to meet the growing consumer demand for their test both in the US and in other countries and will also allow them to expand their services by offering tests for "wellness and health traits".
AncestryDNA have already made their first steps into the health market by launching a new service called AncestryHealth which is currently in beta testing and is only available in the US.
It was revealed back in October 2015 that AncestryDNA were in talks with the FDA and were "seeking permission to use its DNA kit to tell people about everything from their disease risk and genetic carrier status, to how well their bodies might react to a specific drug".
In May this year AncestryDNA launched a new chip which "includes some markers associated with health". AncestryDNA said at the time "We continue to explore the possibility of developing health products in the future, and may do so with proper regulatory and legal approval."
Quest Diagnostics and AncestryDNA collaborate
to expand consumer DNA testing
World leaders in consumer genomics and diagnostic information services team up
Driven by rapidly growing global consumer demand for self-discovery through genomics
MADISON, N.J., and LEHI, Utah, Aug. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, and AncestryDNA, the leader in family history and consumer genomics, are teaming up to help meet the rapidly growing consumer demand for genetic tests that provide insights into genetic ethnicity, origins and other factors. The new collaboration will allow AncestryDNA to scale its testing services and pave the way for new wellness offerings.
"We are very excited to be partnering with Quest Diagnostics to offer our consumer DNA test to more consumers around the world," said Tim Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of Ancestry. "There's an inherent human need to learn more about who we are as individuals and how we connect to the world around us. As the success of AncestryDNA has already demonstrated, the stories and revelations contained within our DNA can have incredibly meaningful, life-altering effects that change how we think about ourselves and our world."
"People are very interested in their family history, and knowing one's family health history is very important in helping us manage our health," said Steve Rusckowski, Quest Diagnostics President and CEO. "Sharing our unique capabilities with Ancestry will help everyone learn more about themselves. We look forward to leveraging our tremendous expertise in genetic testing and information to offer a first-in-class experience to Ancestry and its customers."
"Quest stood out from all others through the breadth of their vision and their unwavering commitment to quality, as well as being well positioned to partner with us to provide wellness and health traits," said Ken Chahine, EVP and GM of AncestryDNA. "Adding a second diagnostic partner is a critical step forward as we work to continue to meet the consumer demand we're seeing for our DNA tests in the U.S. and markets around the world. We'll also now be able to move toward an East-West logistical approach, testing kits closer to where our consumers live and, ideally, reducing the time they need to wait to receive their results."
Ancestry selected Quest Diagnostics after considering several laboratory organizations through a formal request for proposal process. Quest Diagnostics will perform genetic testing on Ancestry customer samples at its state-of-the-art laboratory in Marlborough, Mass. Additional terms were not disclosed.
Quest's Marlborough facility uses next-generation sequencing and other technologies to provide testing in genetics, inherited cancers, neurological disorders and other complex diseases. Opened in 2014, the 200,000 square foot laboratory can accommodate expected growing demand for AncestryDNA. Quest expects to begin performing testing for Ancestry in the first quarter of 2017. Over time, the two companies intend to explore additional opportunities such as developing tools and applications to guide people on building and understanding their "family medical tree."
About Ancestry
Ancestry, the global leader in family history and consumer genomics, harnesses the information found in family trees, historical records, and DNA to help people gain a new level of understanding about their lives. Ancestry has more than 2.4 million paying subscribers across its core Ancestry websites and more than 2 million DNA samples in the AncestryDNA database. Since 1996, more than 18 billion records have been added, and users have created more than 80 million family trees on the Ancestry flagship site and its affiliated international websites. Ancestry offers a suite of family history products and services including AncestryDNA, Archives, ProGenealogists, Newspapers.com and Fold3.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve health care management. Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our 44,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives. www.QuestDiagnostics.com.
Quest, Quest Diagnostics and all associated Quest Diagnostics registered or unregistered trademarks are the property of Quest Diagnostics.
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