The acquisition of Clear Genetics will help Invitae to enhance its ability to scale and deliver genetic information as a part of routine medical care
Image: Invitae has agreed to acquire Clear Genetics. Photo: courtesy of PRNewswire / Invitae Corporation.
Medical genetics company Invitae has agreed to acquire Y Combinator company Clear Genetics for around $50m.
Under the terms of the agreement, Clear Genetics will receive $25m in cash and the remaining in shares of Invitae common stock.
Clear Genetics is a major provider of software for genetic services. It mainly focuses on the development of patient-centric software to integrate genetics into routine patient care.
Clear Genetics’ HIPAA-compliant platform provides an automated solution to deliver genetic services at scale
The company’s HIPAA-compliant platform serves as an automated and comprehensive solution to deliver genetic services at scale. It provides services to the major health systems, clinics and commercial labs across the nation.
By using advanced chatbots, Clear Genetics provides patients with actionable information across the genetic testing process, as well as offers guidance to understand test results.
The acquisition of Clear Genetics will allow Invitae to scale and deliver genetic information as a part of routine medical care.
Invitae co-founder and CEO Sean George said: “In working with the Clear Genetics team over the past year, we have first-hand experience with the value of their patient-centric services.
“With their capabilities we will greatly enhance our ability to provide a streamlined customer experience, enable scaled clinician education and support, and arm genetics experts with the tools they need to keep up with the exploding demand for genetic information in healthcare.”
Gia, a Clear Genetics’ chatbot, is a platform designed to guide patients across the genetic testing process. It is currently being used by customers in Invitae’s direct channel.
Gia chatbot, which was developed in collaboration with genetic counsellors, will guide patients regarding consent, personalised risk assessment, insurance benefits, pre/post-test education and understanding their test results via online conversation.
The chatbot is said to use natural language processing to respond with the resources required by the patient.
Clear Genetics’ Clinic Hub offers clinicians with similarly easy-to-use software for the management of patient care, including automated patient triage.
Clear Genetics co-founder and CEO Moran Snir said: “We founded Clear Genetics with a mission to simplify the genetic testing process for as many people as possible by providing easy-to-use, automated tools that help both patient and clinician from initial appointment to results.