GEN inCode UK Limited, the cardiovascular disease company focused on predictive genetics for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, announces today a collaboration with Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals ("RB&H"), recently merged with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust ("GSTT"), to provide globally leading cardiovascular disease clinical genetic testing and reporting.

GEN inCode specializes in polygenic risk assessment for the onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and hence the ability to help predict and prevent future cardiovascular events. CVD is a broad disease classification which encompasses conditions such as coronary artery disease (causing angina, heart attacks, heart failure), cerebrovascular disease (causing stroke, and some dementia), peripheral vascular disease (causing limb ischaemia, and some chronic kidney disease) and venous thromboembolism. CVD is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide accounting for 1 in every 4 deaths in the United States. By 2030 the global cost of CVD is set to rise from approximately US$863 billion in 2010 to US$1,044 billion and is both a major health issue and global economic burden.

GEN inCode will deliver a portfolio of polygenic CVD products and reporting systems via the collaboration. GEN inCode and RB&H will also jointly collaborate to develop new genetic CVD tests, based at the RB&H Genetics & Genomics Laboratory in London.

GEN inCode and RB&H have a vision to assist clinicians and inform patients in interpreting cardiovascular risk and to improve public health by using the predictive capability of genomics to assist in making lifestyle choices and targeting treatment to improve patient outcomes. Over the past 15 years GEN inCode has amassed significant investment in its research, bioinformatic data, technology and product development to assess disease risk to prevent the onset of CVD.

Matthew Walls, CEO, GEN inCode said: "We are delighted to announce our UK collaboration and honoured to work with such an expert team. We look forward to delivering an ever improving standard of patient care through the use of our genetic tests, and to supporting the RB&H and GSTT vision to tackle CVD."

Piers McCleery, director of strategy, RB&H hospitals: "We look forward to working with GEN InCode to develop new genetic tests that better assess clinical risk in patients across a wider range of cardiovascular diseases and conditions."