-- A wide range of high-quality, affordable genetic tests now
available for hereditary cardiovascular disorders --
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Invitae
Corporation (NYSE:
NVTA), a genetic information company, today announced the expansion
of its cardiology offering, including more than 30 cardiovascular test
panels for arrhythmias, cardiomyopathies, aortopathies, familial
hypercholesterolemia, pulmonary hypertension, and congenital heart
disease.
Genetic cardiac conditions may be difficult to diagnose. Often, the
first evidence of a hereditary cardiac condition is the sudden death of
an otherwise healthy person, sometimes in infancy or childhood.
Invitae’s expanded
cardiovascular test menu allows the company to provide first-line
genetic testing for inherited arrhythmia and cardiomyopathy conditions,
including sudden cardiac arrest or death, as well as inherited aortic
diseases and familial hypercholesterolemia, one of the most common
inherited cardiovascular conditions. This comprehensive cardiology
offering includes a rigorous, evidence-based variant classification
process developed by a highly qualified team of board-certified genetic
counselors, PhD scientists, and physicians with special expertise in the
genetic testing for hereditary cardiovascular disorders.
“Heart disease is the number-one cause of death in our country, and
there are a number of red flags that could indicate when there’s genetic
heart disease in the family,” said Amy Sturm, MS, LCGC, associate
professor and genetic counseling expert at The
Ohio State University.
Sturm encourages everyone to pay attention to the following types of
events in their family health history:
-
A relative diagnosed with heart disease at an early age
-
Multiple family members who have had a heart attack, an abnormal heart
rhythm, heart failure, or a heart transplant
-
A relative who died suddenly or had an unexplained death.
With this offering, Invitae’s cardiology menu expands to more than 190
genes, providing fast, affordable, and reliable answers in a flexible
format to support overlapping clinical presentations. Clinicians can
easily choose the right test for their patient, with no penalty for
starting with large or small panels, because of Invitae’s policies of
charging a flat price per indication—regardless of the number of genes
ordered—as well as allowing physicians to re-requisition additional
genes for the same condition within 90 days for no additional charge.
Invitae seeks to integrate genetic testing into mainstream cardiology
practice. The company’s goal is to provide rapid answers to difficult
questions and help patients and their healthcare providers understand
the underlying cause of their disease.
According to patient advocacy organization the Sudden
Arrhythmia Death Syndromes (SADS) Foundation, making testing more
accessible is key. “We believe that with genetic information families
can better understand their genetic risks and, when necessary, take
preventive action,” the SADS organization stated in their recent
newsletter. “Lowering costs of testing and making tests easier to get
will help families everywhere. We believe that by working to make these
genetic tests more available and affordable we are giving families
information that will help save lives.”
“The availability of quality, affordable genetic testing for
cardiovascular conditions has the potential to dramatically improve
outcomes for patients and their family members who may unknowingly be at
higher risk for a cardiac event,” said Robert Nussbaum, MD, chief
medical officer of Invitae and an attending physician in the
Cardiovascular Genetics Clinic at UCSF. “With this broader and more
comprehensive cardiology offering, we now have the tests our patients
need in a flexible format and at reasonable cost, making it much easier
for clinicians to provide answers for their patients and their patients’
families. Importantly, the results of genetic testing may also help
accelerate drug development for genetic cardiovascular conditions in the
future.”
Invitae offers a transparent pricing structure independent of the number
of genes required to provide an accurate diagnosis for any specific
clinical indication. For payers and institutions who are in contract
with Invitae, the price per indication can be as low as $950, depending
on the payer’s requirements. For third-party payers with whom Invitae is
out-of-network and for non-contracted institutions, the price per
indication is $1,500. In addition, for patients without third-party
insurance coverage or who do not meet insurance criteria for coverage,
Invitae offers its full test menu for $475 per indication for patients
whose clinician has ordered the testing online and who register online
and pay in advance for the testing.
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
single 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 ir.invitae.com
and follow us on Twitter: @invitae
and @invitaeIR.
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 company’s belief that the
availability of quality, affordable genetic testing has the potential to
dramatically improve outcomes for patients and their family members; the
belief that the company’s new tests make it much easier for clinicians
to provide answers for patients; the belief that genetic testing may
help accelerate drug development for genetic cardiac conditions in the
future; the potential benefits of genetic testing and the company’s
tests; the benefits of the company’s pricing and billing policies; and
the ability of the company to realize its goals, including making
genetic testing more affordable and accessible to billions of people.
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 company’s
history of losses; the company’s ability to generate substantial demand
for its tests; the company’s ability to develop and commercialize new
tests and expand into new markets; the risk that the company may not
obtain or maintain sufficient levels of reimbursement for its tests;
risks associated with the company’s ability to use rapidly changing
genetic data to interpret test results accurately and consistently; the
company’s ability to compete; laws and regulations applicable to the
company’s business, including potential regulation by the Food and Drug
Administration; 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, 2015. These forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date hereof, and Invitae Corporation disclaims any obligation to
update these forward-looking statements.
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Source: Invitae Corporation