Helix and WakeMed to Launch Major Genetic Health Initiative in Wake County

4-year population health program to improve preventive care and provide greater precision care

SAN MATEO, Calif., and RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Helix, a leader in precision health, and WakeMed, a nationally recognized not-for-profit health system based in Raleigh, N.C., are partnering to launch a precision medicine community program. This initiative strives to transform health outcomes by making individualized care accessible to everyone, improving disease prevention, and supporting local health research efforts for residents of Wake County and beyond.

Slated to kick off later this year, the program will provide actionable DNA insights and address key risk factors for certain diseases, such as breast and ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer and high cholesterol.

Together, WakeMed and Helix aim to enroll 100,000 participants over four years, making it the largest population health program in Wake County. Participation is voluntary and provided at no cost to participants. Participants may use this genetic information to help prevent disease or detect it at earlier, more treatable stages.

"A community health research program developed through the strategic collaboration between WakeMed and Helix will help improve the health of the patients and the communities we serve," said David Kirk, MD, chief clinical integration officer for WakeMed. "Having a better understanding of how DNA impacts our health brings us one step closer to learning about our genetic risk for common cancers and heart disease while increasing access to personalized medicine to all patients in our community."

By screening on a large-scale platform, WakeMed will be able to uncover what risks might be occurring at disproportionate levels within the local area and ultimately create proactive health programs for the broader community as a whole.

The program will enable all participants and their healthcare providers to securely receive important information about their potential genetic risk for certain cancers and a cause of heart disease, and participants may also choose to receive regional ancestry and genetic traits (like caffeine sensitivity). 

As part of this large-scale initiative, Helix will apply its end-to-end genomics platform and unique Sequence Once, Query Often^Ⓡ model which enables future genomic tests to be ordered without the need to collect an additional patient sample. This will give patients and their doctors access to ongoing genomic insights about their health throughout their lifetime. 

"By integrating Helix's technology with WakeMed's exceptional healthcare services, we are poised to transform how patients and healthcare providers approach personalized medicine," said James Lu, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Helix. "Together, we aim to unlock new possibilities for early disease detection, preventative care, and tailored treatment plans with the goal of enhancing the well-being of the communities WakeMed serves."

WakeMed joins Helix's leading group of partner health systems launching population genomics programs which span across the United States. About 1-2% of participants in the program are expected to test positive and have a risk for one of the three conditions included in the Helix Health test.

More details about this initiative will be shared in the coming weeks.

About WakeMed Health & Hospitals
Serving the community since 1961, WakeMed is a not-for-profit health care system founded and based in Raleigh, N.C. WakeMed exists to improve the health and well-being of our community by providing outstanding and compassionate care to all. WakeMed's 1,003-bed system comprises a network of facilities throughout the Triangle area, including three full-service hospitals, eight emergency departments, a dedicated Children's Hospital and Rehabilitation Hospital, two exceptional Trauma Centers—a Level I Trauma Center in Raleigh and a Level III Trauma Center in Cary, and more than 165 physician and physical therapy practice offices. WakeMed's mission-driven team includes nearly 12,000 employees, 1,200 volunteers and 1,300 affiliated physicians, along with the more than 800 physicians and advanced practice providers with WakeMed Physician Practices—all representing the best minds and the biggest hearts and the finest quality in health care and community health. For more information, visit www.wakemed.org or follow WakeMed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Helix
Helix is the leading population genomics and precision health organization. Helix enables health systems, life sciences companies and payers to accelerate the integration of genomic data into patient care and therapeutic development. Learn more at www.helix.com. 

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Helix