Californians can now enjoy the benefits of deCODE’s market-leading DNA-based disease risk assessment tests and pioneering deCODEme™ genome scans

deCODE genetics today announced that it has received a clinical laboratory license from the State of California. The quality and scale of deCODE’s in-house, CLIA-registered genotyping laboratory underpins deCODE’s global leadership in the discovery of variations in the sequence of the human genome conferring risk of common diseases. The same staff and facility also process deCODE’s DNA-based reference laboratory tests for gauging individual risk of major public health challenges ranging from heart attack to breast cancer, as well as the company’s pioneering deCODEme™ scans, the world’s first personal genome analysis and focused disease area scans. With this license, California residents can now benefit from the unrivaled quality of deCODE products for understanding risk and, working with their physicians, empowering the prevention of common diseases.

“We believe that understanding genetic risk factors for the common diseases such as heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes and common cancers will soon become a standard part of modern healthcare. This information enables individuals to take more control of their health, and is driving the transition from a healthcare system based upon treating diseases once they occur to one focused on disease prevention and early detection. deCODE is unique in that we are the leaders both in the discovery of genetic risk factors for common diseases and in bringing to market the reference laboratory tests and direct-to-consumer scans that enable individuals and their physicians to put these discoveries to work to better protect their health. Our competitors outsource the science, the DNA-analysis, or both. But for us this is the real foundation of personalized medicine, and we are committed to delivering only the best validated tests and the highest quality results, all in-house. We are pleased that Californians will now be able to benefit from the highest quality products in this exciting new field,” said Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE.

Through its reference laboratory testing service, www.decodediagnostics.com, deCODE offers DNA-based tests for assessing individual risk of heart attack, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and glaucoma. deCODEme™ is the world’s first retail genome analysis service, avialable at www.decodeme.com. The full genome Complete Scan scan and the Cardio and Cancer scans 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. deCODE diagnostic tests and deCODEme™ scans detect the single-letter genetic variations (called SNPs) with the biggest impact on disease risk. These SNPs are 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 of its kind anywhere in the world.