NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Veritas Genetics said today it is creating an R&D center in China to develop genetic products targeting the Asian population.
The new center will be headquartered in Hangzhou and led by Managing Director Jonathan Zhao; Vice President of Global Clinical and Regulatory Affairs Lei Li; and Vice President of China R&D Min Wang.
Veritas, which is based in Boston, said that with the new center it is carrying out its mission to "make disease prevention through genetic screening products accessible globally."
The China center will develop products that address "the unique variants which are common in Asian populations," Li said in a statement. Veritas noted as an example alpha thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder for which as much as 14 percent of populations in parts of Asia carry disease variants.
Veritas was founded in 2014 and recently launched a BRCA1 and BRCA2 test for $199. The test, called myBRCA, for hereditary ovarian and breast cancer received CE marking last month.