Quest Diagnostics 2012 Annual Report Download - page 11

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- We released novel testing for omega 3 fatty acids, as well as testing for adrenal hormones to aid in the
diagnosis of metabolic diseases in women and children.
- In addition, we advanced our program in diabetes testing by releasing insulin testing by mass spectromotry,
which helps address variability issues that previously have hindered the clinical use of testing for this analyte.
•Neurology.
- We launched molecular genetic testing to aid in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, ALS, muscular
dystrophy and epilepsy.
- The FDA granted our de novo classification petition for our STRATIFY JCVTM Antibody ELISA testing
service. It is the first blood test to be FDA market authorized for the qualitative detection of antibodies to the
polyomavirus JC virus for stratifying risk for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, an infrequent but
serious brain infection, in patients with multiple sclerosis receiving TYSABRI®, a therapy for relapsing forms
of multiple sclerosis.
•Women's Health.
- We further enhanced our SureSwab® Vaginosis/Vaginitis Plus test by expanding the organisms and sample
types in the offering.
- We also delivered Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) testing to all Quest Diagnostics customers along with
Cystic Fibrosis Fragile X and other genetic testing services.
- Clinical validation studies of our proprietary hhCG test for early detection of pregnancy in In Vitro
Fertilization patients demonstrated improvement over the standard of care.
Diagnostic Solutions
Clinical Trials Testing.
We are a leading provider of central laboratory testing performed in connection with clinical research trials on new
drugs, vaccines and certain medical devices. Clinical research trials are required by the FDA and non-U.S. regulatory
authorities to assess the safety and efficacy of new drugs, vaccines and some medical devices. We see opportunities to develop
pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic tests to help speed drug approval processes for our clinical trials customers and,
capitalizing on the trend to personalized medicine, to better focus patient therapy based on a patient's genetic markers. We have
biomarker capabilities that advance our efforts to develop these tests, and offer an “end-to-end” array of services for
companion diagnostics.
We have clinical trials testing centers in the United States, the United Kingdom and India, and we provide clinical
trials testing in Argentina, Brazil, China and Singapore through affiliated laboratories. We serve most of the major
pharmaceutical companies.
Life Insurer Services.
We are the largest provider of risk assessment services to the life insurance industry in North America. We also
provide risk assessment services for insurance companies doing business in many countries outside the United States. We
charge our life insurance customers on a fee-for-service basis, typically under multi-year agreements.
Our risk assessment services comprise underwriting support services to the life insurance industry, including
laboratory testing, electronic data collection, specimen collection and paramedical examinations, medical record retrieval, case
management, motor vehicle reports, telephone inspections, prescription histories and credit checks. The laboratory tests that we
perform and data we gather are designed to assist insurance companies objectively to evaluate the mortality risks of policy
applicants. The majority of the testing is performed on specimens of life insurance applicants, but also includes specimens of
applicants for other types of insurance. Factors such as the number of applications for underwritten life insurance policies can
affect the utilization of clinical testing and other services we provide to our insurance customers. Most of our specimen
collections and paramedical examinations are performed by our network of approximately 5,000 contracted paramedical
examiners at the applicant's home or workplace. We also offer paramedical examinations through approximately 600 of our
patient service centers, and operate approximately 80 locations other than patient service centers in the United States and
Canada where we provide paramedical examinations, bringing to approximately 680 the total number of sites where we can
provide these examinations. We also contract with third parties at over an additional 200 locations globally to coordinate
providing these exams.