Google will be covering cancer DNA testing as part of its employee benefits plan beginning in January, Foundation Medicine' President and CEO Michael Pellini noted during a conference call.
As GenomeWeb Daily News reports, Google employees and their family members who have cancer will have covered access to Foundation Medicine's FoundationOne and FoundationOne Heme tests. These tests can cost between $5,800 and $7,200, Reuters adds, and help tailor cancer treatment.
It notes that Google Ventures, the company's venture capital and investment arm, has invested in Foundation Medicine and that Google Ventures' Krishna Yeshwant is on Foundation Medicine's board.
Valleywag says that as tech companies compete for talented developers there is a "never-ending game of perk one-upsmanship."
"This latest offering could be a sign of more perks to come, given Google's recent emphasis on healthcare and genetic data and the regulators who get in the way, it adds.