Veritas Genetics introduces genetic screen for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer risk

Jun 2 2015

Boston-based Veritas Genetics is launching its mission to disrupt the genetic testing industry and bring personalized medicine and prevention to the forefront, allowing individuals to take more control of their health. Beginning with its first product, a genetic screen for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer risk, Veritas Genetics is making its products affordable and accessible, and in turn exponentially expanding the amount of genetic data which will be shared with the scientific community to advance our collective understanding of disease and prevention.

Veritas Genetics was founded by leaders in genomics from Harvard Medical School, Dr. George Church and Dr. Preston Estep, and Mass General Hospital, Joseph Thakuria M.D., as well as life sciences entrepreneurs Mirza Cifric and Jonathan Zhao. Having closed a $10MM Series A financing round with Lilly Asia Ventures in May, Veritas seeks to make personalized medicine accessible globally.

"As a society, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to remove barriers to genetic testing that can lead to disease prevention and early detection," says Mirza Cifric, Veritas Genetics' Chief Executive Officer. "The true potential of personalized medicine will only be realized when we expand access to include all who can benefit. And, importantly, it is critical to deliver this potentially life-changing information responsibly."

The company is excited to launch its first genetic test, myBRCA, an affordable and simple saliva-based genetic screen of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The presence of harmful mutations in these genes means an up to 80 percent lifetime risk of breast cancer and 40 percent for ovarian cancer.¹ With the help of this test, women with BRCA mutations are better informed to evaluate preventative and potentially life-saving measures. myBRCA is being rolled out in the U.S., Europe and China.

BRCA testing is often limited to women who either have a known family history of cancer or have already been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer. myBRCA closes a gap highlighted in a recent study by Mary-Claire King, et al., which found that 50 percent of families identified as having the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations had no history of breast or ovarian cancer that would have triggered clinical attention. Available for $199 at the company's website, www.veritasgenetics.com, the myBRCA test does not require insurance carrier approval, is doctor requisitioned and offers genetic counseling. In line with Veritas Genetics' mission to provide access to all, the company will match every purchased test with a donated test to advocacy organizations for distribution to women in financial need. myBRCA is performed at Veritas' CLIA certified laboratory.

"Our mission goes well beyond a single genetic test," adds Dr. Estep, founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Veritas and Director of Gerontology of the Personal Genome Project at Harvard Medical School. "We are building Veritas to contribute increasingly large amounts of data to public databases, advancing our collective understanding of disease incidence and progression, and ultimately accelerating progress in prevention, early detection, and treatment of diseases."

Veritas Genetics joined FreeTheData as well as the Global Alliance for Genetics and Health (GA4GH) and its BRCA Challenge to establish the world's finest BRCA database, and will continue to contribute data to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored ClinVar database.

"We are shaking up how society approaches disease prevention by giving individuals and their doctors more control of their own health," says Cifric. "Expanding access to genetic testing is just the first step. Our social mission will truly be fulfilled when we are able to create a multiplier effect, in turn exponentially generating and sharing data that will advance science and positively impact generations to come."