A Glimpse of Your Genomic Future...
How insurance and genomic sequencing are working together to make you healthier
A recent press release about an alliance between a British genomics company and an American insurer portends fascinating developments for those of us who have long hoped that genomics might jump from the lab into every day life.
This is a very big deal. Per Yahoo:
Genomics plc (Genomics), a healthcare company transforming health through the power of genomics, and MassMutual, a leading mutual life insurance company in the United States, today announced the next phase of their innovative partnership enabling more eligible MassMutual policyowners to gain knowledge about their health in order to make informed, proactive decisions that may help them lead longer, healthier lives. The program offers a genetic risk assessment service to these individuals, providing insight into their personalized risk for eight major diseases. The expansion follows a successful research collaboration in which more than 70% of policyowners who elected to use the risk assessment service reported intent to take preventative actions based on their risk scores, including plans to see their doctor or seek further screening.
Genomics’ at-home test studies millions of small variations in DNA, generating polygenic risk scores, that can inform the likelihood of certain conditions. The predictive power of this new type of genetic risk testing has the ability to improve individuals’ health outcomes by increasing patient engagement and activation and helping doctors make more informed decisions and recommendations for their patients. During the initial Genomics and MassMutual research collaboration, 1 in 5 policyowners learned that they are at a higher risk for preventable diseases.
The expanded program offers eligible MassMutual policyowners aged 35-70 access to polygenic risk testing via a saliva test that identifies hidden risk for eight common conditions: atrial fibrillation, breast, or prostate cancer (depending on biological sex), cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low bone density and type 2 diabetes. In addition to learning about their risk for each of the conditions, policyowners also receive actionable, tailored health advice and a report they can review with their doctor to reduce the chances of developing the condition.
A critical component of this collaboration is a shared commitment to data privacy. Policyowners participate on a voluntary basis. Their results are never shared with MassMutual and do not impact current premiums or policies. MassMutual only receives high-level, anonymized data from Genomics that allows the company to better understand aggregate policyowners’ health and behaviors and interest in these types of offerings.
“While the study of genomics is not new, it now provides an enormous opportunity to help individuals live their longest, healthiest lives. By giving individuals and their doctors much more precise information about the particular health risks they face, they can take the right actions, at the right time, to help prevent disease entirely, or to catch it early when outcomes are much better,” said Sir Peter Donnelly, co-founder and chief executive officer, Genomics. “As a leader in insurance, MassMutual is one of the first to understand the untapped value genomics brings in making proactive and preventative health choices. We’re thrilled to work alongside a partner aligned with our mission of transforming health and making this technology more widely available.”
This is especially exciting because it’s essentially the exact same model for Traitwell, the genomics company we cofounded.
Please have a look at what we’ve been releasing.
It’s free if you’ve done 23andMe, AncestryDNA, or any of the other conventional genomics sequencing.
We’re currently raising to build our own genomics lab for everyone who hasn’t been sequenced… yet.
What do you guys think of gene partner?