Navigenics, Inc. was a privately held

personal genomics Personal genomics or consumer genetics is the branch of genomics concerned with the sequencing, analysis and interpretation of the genome of an individual. The genotyping stage employs different techniques, including single-nucleotide polym ...

company, based in

Foster City, California Foster City is a master-planned city located in San Mateo County, California, United States. Foster City is sometimes considered to be part of Silicon Valley for its local industry and its proximity to Silicon Valley cities. There are many n ...

, that used

genetic testing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

to help people determine their individual risk for dozens of health conditions.Navigenics, Inc
"Navigenics launches Health Compass service."
Retrieved 2008-10-15.

History

Navigenics was co-founded in 2006 by

David Agus David B. Agus () is an American physician and author who serves as a professor of medicine and engineering at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and Viterbi School of Engineering and the Founding Director and CEO of ...

, M.D., a

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

specialist who is a professor of medicine at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

and director of the USC Center for Applied Molecular Medicine and the USC Westside Prostate Cancer Center in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and Dietrich Stephan, Ph.D., member of the board of directors of the Personalized Medicine Coalition, current CEO of Silicon Valley Biosystems, former chairman of Neurogenomics and deputy director for discovery research at the

Translational Genomics Research Institute The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a non-profit genomics research institute based in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. History and activities TGen was established in July 2002 by Jeffrey Trent in Phoenix, Arizona, w ...

. In July 2012, Navigenics was acquired by Life Technologies, which was acquired by

Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is an American life science and clinical research company. It is a global supplier of analytical instruments, clinical development solutions, specialty diagnostics, laboratory, pharmaceutical and biotechnology s ...

in February, 2014.

Controversy in California

In June 2008, California health regulators sent cease-and-desist letters to Navigenics and 12 other genetic testing firms, including

23andMe 23andMe Holding Co. is an American personal genomics and biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, California. It is best known for providing a direct-to-consumer genetic testing service in which customers provide a saliva testing, sali ...

. The state regulators asked the companies to prove a physician was involved in the ordering of each test and that state clinical laboratory licensing requirements were being fulfilled. The controversy sparked a flurry of interest in the relatively new field, as well as a number of media articles, including an opinion piece on Wired.com entitled, “Attention, California Health Dept.: My DNA Is My Data.” In August 2008, Navigenics and 23andMe received state licenses allowing the companies to continue to do business in California.Pollack, Andrew
"California Licenses 2 Companies to Offer Gene Services."
New York Times. (2008-08-19). Retrieved 2008-10-15.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Navigenics site
- Archive.org version from 2012 Genomics companies Biotechnology companies of the United States Privately held companies based in California Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Healthcare in the San Francisco Bay Area Companies based in Foster City, California