Invitae Announces Collaboration With Helix to Build Applications for Health and Wellness
October 18 2016 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA), a genetic information company,
today announced a collaboration with Helix, a personal genomics
company, to build novel, clinician-approved genetic testing
applications designed to work with Helix’s CLIA-certified DNA
sequencing platform to provide screening applications for health
and wellness. Individuals who utilize the Helix consumer platform
will be able to select health applications from Invitae pending
approval by a clinician. Invitae will then provide a full
interpretation of the results.
Through this collaboration, Invitae will offer some of the first
health apps on the Helix platform for common, actionable inherited
disorders. The Invitae apps will be designed to provide healthy
individuals with a proactive genetic health scan focused on risk
factors for common diseases for which there are preventive measures
available. The collaboration will initially focus on common,
actionable genes associated with inherited forms of cancer and
cardiovascular disease, with plans to offer additional applications
in the future.
“Our goal is to provide healthy individuals and their clinicians
with a more proactive approach by making common, actionable genetic
tests more accessible,” said Randy Scott, chairman and chief
executive officer of Invitae. “Historically genetic testing has
only been available for high risk or symptomatic patients. With the
Helix platform we can now provide low cost genetic “health scans”
for healthy individuals with the power to introduce more preventive
health measures in advance of disease diagnosis.”
“We’re pleased that individuals using our platform will have
access to Invitae’s best-in-class understanding of the genetic risk
factors for inherited diseases,” said Robin Thurston, CEO of Helix.
“We believe every person can benefit from the opportunity to
discover insights into their DNA, and, in particular, how it
informs their health.”
This type of health scan is intended for healthy individuals at
low risk for disease. Health scans would not be appropriate for
high-risk individuals who are already diagnosed with a hereditary
condition or have a significant family history, where a more
comprehensive diagnostic test would be more appropriate. To help
ensure the apps are used in a medically responsible way, clinical
oversight and expert support is integrated into the offering. A
request to use an Invitae app will require a clinician to finalize
the order prior to a health-related report being delivered. In
addition, Invitae will provide access to genetic counseling for
patients using their health apps on the Helix platform.
“Making Invitae expertise available through Helix will add an
important health-related component to this new approach to personal
genomics,” said Robert Nussbaum, MD, chief medical officer of
Invitae. “Individuals using Helix will have access to tests that
help them make more informed health decisions, backed by Invitae’s
high quality and medical expertise.”
Invitae’s collaboration with Helix complements Invitae’s
existing menu of genetic testing, which will continue to be based
in Invitae’s own College of American Pathologists (CAP)-accredited
and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified
clinical diagnostic laboratory.
Invitae’s health-related scans on the Helix platform are
expected to be available in 2017.
About Invitae
Invitae Corporation's (NYSE: NVTA) mission is to bring
comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medical practice
to improve the quality of healthcare for billions of people.
Invitae’s goal is to aggregate most of the world’s genetic tests
into a single service with higher quality, faster turnaround time,
and lower price than many single-gene and panel tests today. The
company currently provides a diagnostic service comprising hundreds
of genes for a variety of genetic disorders associated with
oncology, cardiology, neurology, pediatrics, and other rare disease
areas. For more information, visit our website at invitae.com.
About Helix
Helix is a personal genomics company with a simple but powerful
mission: to empower every person to improve their life through DNA.
We’re creating an ecosystem where people can explore diverse and
uniquely personalized applications provided by high-quality
partners. Helix handles sample collection, DNA sequencing, and
secure data storage so that our partners can develop on-demand
products in areas such as health, fitness, nutrition, lifestyle,
genealogy, and inherited traits. Helix is headquartered in the San
Francisco Bay Area and operates one of the world’s largest
next-generation sequencing laboratories in San Diego. You can learn
more at www.helix.com or follow @my_helix.
Safe Harbor Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, including statements relating to the ultimate functionality,
features, availability and processes used by the Invitae apps and
the Helix consumer platform; the genes covered by the Invitae apps;
the company’s beliefs with respect to the benefits of the Invitae
apps and the Helix platform; the company’s goal of providing
healthy individuals and their clinicians actionable genetic tests
and increasing accessibility; the company’s ability to provide low
cost genetic “health scans” with the Helix platform; the company’s
belief that individuals using Helix will have access to tests that
help them make more informed health decisions, backed by Invitae’s
high quality and medical expertise; genetic testing and its impact
on diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease; and the
company’s commitment to bringing genetics into mainstream medicine.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially, and reported
results should not be considered as an indication of future
performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to: the risk that the company’s apps are not ultimately
launched; risks associated with the company’s ability to use
rapidly changing genetic data to interpret test results accurately
and consistently; laws and regulations applicable to the company’s
business, including state licensing requirements and potential
regulation by the Food and Drug Administration; the company’s
ability to develop and commercialize new tests and expand into new
markets; and the other risks set forth in the company’s filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks
set forth in the company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended June 30, 2016. These forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date hereof, and Invitae Corporation disclaims any
obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
NOTE: Invitae and the Invitae logo are trademarks of Invitae
Corporation. All other trademarks and service marks are the
property of their respective owners.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161018005571/en/
Invitae CorporationLaura D’Angelo,
314-920-0617pr@invitae.com
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