PGXL Contracted by Generation Health to Provide Diagnostic Tests

LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 24/PRNewswire/ -- PGXL, a Louisville-based molecular diagnostics laboratory, announced a new contractual agreement with Generation Health, Inc. (GH). The agreement makes PGXL a preferred genetic testing lab for GH. The lab will provide molecular diagnostic tests for GH, which will help physicians make therapeutic decisions and facilitate what has come to be known as "personalized medicine."

"The affiliation with Generation Health takes our company, and the reality of personalized medicine, to a whole new level," says Dr. Roland Valdes, Jr., co-founder and Chairman of PGXL. "This is going to improve the standard of care for millions of patients."

GH and PGXL will begin partnering in July 2010 to facilitate pharmacogenetic testing and diagnostic services to healthcare providers for patient care. In January, 2011, GH plans to expand the program, offering managed diagnostic testing to all GH clients.

"PGXL was the first lab to be CLIA-certified exclusively for pharmacogenetics testing and we're pleased that PGXL is part of our Best Test™ laboratory network," said GH Chief Executive Officer Rick Schatzberg.  "We believe PGXL's long-standing clinical expertise and their commitment to provide caregivers the most accurate and timely pharmacogenetic tests possible strengthens our ability to provide our clients with the best genetic laboratory network available."

Pharmacogenetics – the science of using genetic information to guide medical treatment – promises to revolutionize the way medicine is practiced.  

"How a particular drug affects a particular patient is determined, in large measure, by that patient's genetics," says Dr. Mark Linder, Executive Vice President and co-founder of PGXL. "Armed with that information, physicians can choose the best treatment path for an individual patient. It eliminates a lot of trial and error, along with the expense and suffering that go along with that."

About PGXL Laboratories:

A privately-owned business located in Louisville, Kentucky, PGXL Laboratories was the first lab in the country CLIA-certified specifically to conduct pharmacogenetic tests. It offers pharmacogenetic testing and interpretive services, and developed one of the first commercial CYP2C9/VKORC1 tests for accurate anticoagulant dosing. Along with its clinical practice, PGXL performs contract research for manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

About Generation Health

Generation Health is a genetic benefit management company partially-owned by CVS Caremark, the nation's largest pharmacy healthcare provider. Just as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) arose in the 1980's to help health care payors better manage their pharmacy expenditures, GH recognizes the need for a genetic testing benefit manager to be a trusted third party that can help payors manage this increasingly complex field. GH offers a systematic, comprehensive and cost-effective process for administering genetic testing benefits and helping to integrate genetic information, where appropriate, into clinical practice.  

SOURCE PGXL Laboratories, LLC