deCODE Complete Scan, Cardio Scan and Cancer Scan.

Through deCODEme™, the world’s first retail genome analysis service, deCODE genetics today announced the launch of the first focused genetic scans for assessing personal risk of several major cardiovascular diseases and common cancers. deCODEme Cardio™, which detects genetic risk factors for Heart Attack, Atrial Fibrillation, Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), and several other conditions, is offered at an introductory price of $195. deCODEme Cancer measures genetic risk factors for Prostate Cancer, Lung Cancer, Bladder Cancer, Skin Cancer and Colorectal Cancers, as well as the common form of Breast Cancer, at an introductory price of $225. Both can be ordered as a bundle for $350.

Focused Genetic Scans offer individuals a new way to better understand their risk of cardiovascular disease and common cancers.

“The common diseases, including cardiovascular conditions such as heart attack and stroke, as well as the common forms of cancer in women and men, result from both genetic and environmental risk factors. We are all familiar with many of the environmental and lifestyle factors that impact our risk of these diseases, and we know that addressing these risk factors can lower our risk of disease. Building on our discoveries of inherited risk factors for these diseases, our goal is to help individuals understand the genetic side of the equation. This is empowering information, that may enable people, on their own or working with their doctors, to make more informed decisions to protect their health. In an age when we are encouraged to take more responsibility for our health, we believe that we should all be able to use understanding of our genome to do stay healthy. deCODEme™ opened the era of the personal genome scan, and deCODEme Cardio™ and deCODEme Cancer™ offer individuals who wish to better understand their risk of particular diseases a focused means of doing so,” said Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE.

The scans – deCODEme Cardio™ and deCODEme Cancer™ – build on deCODE’s global leadership in the discovery of common variations in the sequence of the human genome conferring increased risk of common diseases. They combine the latest science and highest quality analysis as only deCODE can. The scans are based on assays custom designed by deCODE scientists to detect the single-letter genetic variations (called SNPs) with the biggest impact on disease risk. These are SNPs validated in large-scale studies by deCODE as well as leading academic research institutions. DNA Analysis is conducted in deCODE’s own CLIA-registered laboratory, one of the largest genotyping facilities in the world. Subscribers have access to genetic counseling. Many deCODE customers have already employed the results of deCODEme and the company’s range of DNA-based risk assessment tests to improve and protect their health. Stories of how deCODE’s products are helping individuals and their physicians to take more control of their health can be found on our blog, at www.deCODEyou.com.

deCODEme Cardio™ measures 8 SNPs associated with the risk of heart attack, intracranical and abdominal aortic aneurysm, stroke and atrial fibrillation, peripherial arterial disease (PAD) and venous thromboempolism. deCODEme Cancer™ measures 29 SNPs associated with risk of prostate, lung, bladder and colorectal cancers, as well as basal cell carcinoma and the common form of breast cancer. Based upon which versions of these SNPs they carry, subscribers will receive a secure online profile presenting their results. Results are presented both in terms of relative risk compared to the general population, as well as absolute lifetime risk, which is the percentage likelihood that an individual will develop a disease in their lifetime, which is their relative risk multiplied by the average lifetime risk in the population.

The results also explain what other risk factors interact with genetic risk to increase or decrease the likelihood of developing a given diseaese, as well as how subscribers may wish to follow up with their doctor to optimize the prevention or early detection of these diseases. deCODEme offers genetic counseling to all its subscribers, and deCODE counselors can be consulted via email or by telephone.

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Marie of Denmark along with deCODE scientist Unnur Thorsteinsdottir during an official visit to deCODE laboratories earlier this year.

Reykjavik, ICELAND, December 8, 2008 – deCODE genetics (Nasdaq:DCGN) today announced the discovery by an international consortium of scientists from deCODE and major European and US academic institutions of a single letter variation in the human genome (SNP) that is associated with increased fasting glucose levels and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). deCODE will employ its CLIA-registered genotyping laboratory and existing testing platform to swiftly integrate the finding into its deCODEme™ personal genome scan, and to assess the addition of this new variant to the company’s deCODE T2™ reference laboratory test for assessing individual risk of type 2 diabetes.

The multinational study analyzed a number of SNPs that had been suggestively linked with fasting glucose levels in several major studies involving some 36,000 individuals from Europe and the United States.The analysis identified a version of single SNP within the gene encoding melatonin receptor IB (MTNR1B) that was associated with notable increase in fasting glucose levels. The deCODE team then demonstrated in its Icelandic cohort that this SNP also associated with an increased risk of T2D, a finding that was then replicated in a meta-analysis of data from more than 80,000 cases and controls from Europe and the US. Approximately 10% of the participants in this study carry two copies of the at-risk version of this SNP, putting them at more than 15 percent greater risk of type 2 diabetes than individuals who carry no copies. The paper, entitled “Variants in MTNR1B influence fasting glucose levels,” is published today in the online edition of Nature Genetics, and will appear in an upcoming print edition of the journal.

“This finding is another step towards rounding out our understanding of the genetic factors that underpin glucose regulation and risk of type 2 diabetes. This variant does not confer sufficient risk to be of clinical utility on its own. But when measured in addition to our TCF7L2 variant that is the anchor of the deCODE T2™ test, it may, like other common variants conferring modest risk, enable the test to capture an even larger proportion of inherited risk. We are currently evaluating its integration into deCODE T2™, because understanding genetic risk of T2D enables individuals and their physicians to focus, personalize and improve prevention. In the meantime, we will be enabling our deCODEme subscribers to check their profiles for this new variant, keeping them at the cutting edge of human genetics” said Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE.

Type 2 diabetes: A major public health problem
T2D is a chronic condition that develops when the body either becomes resistant to or doesn’t secrete enough insulin. Diabetes affects nearly 200 million people worldwide and, according to the American Diabetes Association, some 21 million in the United States. The vast majority of these have T2D, and as many as one third of Americans with diabetes may not even be aware that they have the disease. More than 50 million Americans have pre-diabetes, a condition characterized by elevated blood glucose levels and which puts these individuals at high risk for developing T2D. T2D can be managed and – most importantly – prevented. If losing weight, eating better and getting adequate exercise aren’t enough, there are also medications that can help to manage blood sugar levels and insulin response to reduce the likelihood of developing diabetes. For more information on T2D and how to prevent it, you can go to the American Diabetes Association’s website.