WebsEdge/Health

Enabling first-line preventative genetic screening: Helix’s Exome+ and a new model for carrying out genomic initiatives. Healthy system-driven, population-scale preventative genetic screening for actionable medical conditions has the potential to save millions of lives. However, such efforts typically require coordination across multiple partners and significant investment to build an infrastructure capable of high-throughput sequencing, data interpretation, and clinical return of results. Helix solves this problem by providing high-quality genomic data—generated in one of the world’s largest CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratories—along with clinical expertise and scientific guidance. In this way, Helix is well suited to help health systems integrate genomic information into routine clinical care, to enhance the accessibility of personalized healthcare, and to accelerate the pace of genetic discovery. In collaboration with the Renown Institute for Health Innovation (Renown IHI), Helix is sequencing 40,000 Nevadans through the Healthy Nevada Project, now the fastest-growing population genomics initiative in the United States. To date, 1.3% of participants have had their lives impacted through medically actionable results for three heritable conditions—90% of whom would not have been identified using clinical screening guidelines. As more health systems and more individuals participants, the impact will only increase.