Cincinnati Children's Joins Boston Children's to Establish the Claritas Pediatric Genomic Network

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cincinnati Children's Medical Center has partnered with Claritas Genomics, a company formed by Boston Children's Hospital and Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE), to provide genomics-based diagnostics for pediatric patients. Cincinnati Children's will work with Claritas and Boston Children's to build a collaborative network to enable pediatric hospitals to share data, expertise, best practices and infrastructure in medical genetics and genomics for the benefit of patients.

Cambridge-based Claritas Genomics, which currently offers over 100 specialty tests, is a diagnostics laboratory that provides genetic testing for clinical providers and researchers with a focus on pediatric medicine. The company was spun out of Boston Children's Hospital in February and combines advanced genetic analysis technology with clinical interpretive services informed by the expertise of pediatric specialists and bioinformaticians.

"We are excited to join the partnership with Boston Children's and Claritas to build the scale of data necessary to realize the promise of clinical genomics. Given the expertise at pediatric hospitals in genomics specifically, the knowledge required to determine the full clinical impact of a patient's genome, and the ethical approaches to responsibly act on the information, patients will benefit from our pediatric hospitals working together in new ways," said Dr. Arnold Strauss, Director, Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation. "Working with Claritas will bring the pediatric expertise to patients across the country and world."

Cincinnati Children's is also investing financially in Claritas, bringing the company's Series A round to a close with two additional strategic investors. The investments bring the new venture closer to a scalable, practical paradigm for advancing genetic and genomic research discoveries and bringing them to appropriate clinical use.

"Boston Children's created Claritas to allow large scale access of the expertise in medical genomics, unique in the pediatric community, to reach larger numbers of patients than would be possible at any single institution. We are pleased that our colleagues at Cincinnati Children's are joining us in this venture," said Sandra Fenwick, President and CEO of Boston Children's Hospital. "Given current financial pressures in healthcare, stand-alone pediatric hospitals will need to collaborate to better leverage resources to accelerate innovations to improve patient care."

"The ability to responsibly share well-characterized data and knowledge across multiple institutions will make each institution stronger," said Gary Fleisher, MD, physician-in-chief at Boston Children's Hospital. "Pediatrics has always been a very collaborative community and now we are working out new ways to formalize these collaborations."

"These exciting partnerships with two of the top three pediatric hospitals in the country are the foundation for providing genomic sequencing and interpretation not just for a single institution, but for patients worldwide," said Patrice Milos, Ph.D., Claritas's Chief Executive Officer. "With both Boston Children's and Cincinnati Children's as partners, we are building a network of pediatric academic centers, linked through electronic systems, that can provide consults and share genomic data to get answers to unsolved genetic diseases much faster."

Claritas Genomics is a clinical genetic diagnostic testing company that combines the clinical expertise of the world's best pediatric specialists with next-generation sequencing technology to inform and improve patient care. Claritas offers a full range of services that take the guesswork out of selecting molecular tests and support clinicians as they navigate the increasingly complex landscape of genetic diagnostics. Claritas's interpretive services are based on the most up to date and reliable findings and its reports are designed to clearly communicate complex genetic information to inform medical treatment. Originally Boston Children's Hospital's clinical molecular testing laboratory, Claritas was launched as an independent laboratory in February 2013.

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center ranks third in the nation among all Honor Roll hospitals in U.S. News and World Report's 2013 Best Children's Hospitals ranking. It is ranked No. 1 for cancer and in the top 10 for nine of 10 pediatric specialties. Cincinnati Children's, a non-profit organization, is one of the top three recipients of pediatric research grants from the National Institutes of Health, and a research and teaching affiliate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The medical center is internationally recognized for improving child health and transforming delivery of care through fully integrated, globally recognized research, education and innovation. Additional information can be found at www.cincinnatichildrens.org. Connect on the Cincinnati Children's blog, via Facebook and on Twitter.

Boston Children's Hospital is the world's largest research enterprise at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. More than 1,100 scientists, including seven members of the National Academy of Sciences, 14 members of the Institute of Medicine and 14 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Boston Children's research community. Boston Children's is a 395-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex, diverse needs of children and families. Boston Children's is also the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information about research and clinical innovation at Boston Children's, visit: http://vectorblog.org.

CONTACTS:
Nurjana Bachman
Claritas Genomics
(617) 553-5803
[email protected]

Terry Loftus
Cincinnati Children's Medical Center
513-636-9682
[email protected]

Rob Graham
Boston Children's Hospital
617-919-3110
[email protected]

SOURCE Claritas Genomics