Industry Biotechnology Website genebygene.com Founder Bennett Greenspan Type Limited company | Products Genetic tests Headquarters Houston Founded April 2000 | |
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Gene by Gene is a commercial genetic testing company based in Houston, Texas. The company is owned by Bennett Greenspan and Max Blankfeld, and is the parent company of Family Tree DNA.
Contents
History
Genealogy by Genetics, Ltd. was formed in 2000 with the creation of Family Tree DNA. In September 2012, Greenspan and Blankfeld restructured the company and renamed it Gene by Gene, Ltd. After restructuring, the business comprises four divisions; DNA DTC, DNA Findings, DNA Traits, and Family Tree DNA.
Family Tree DNA
Family Tree DNA was the first commercial company to develop DNA testing for genealogical purposes. It has been operational since April 2000.
The Genomics Research Center
Family Tree DNA originally partnered with the University of Arizona for testing. However, Greenspan and Blankfeld started their own testing laboratory, the Houston-based Genomics Research Center (GRC), under the Genealogy by Genetics, Ltd. parent company in 2007. As of November 2012, the GRC processed more than five million discrete DNA tests for over 700,000 individuals and organizations. All public participation kits from the Genographic Project are currently processed at the GRC laboratory. In April 2013, Gene by Gene announced it had signed an agreement with the MD Anderson Cancer Center to provide instruction, training and supervision to the center's undergraduate molecular genetic technology students.
Additional divisions
With the opening of the GRC, Greenspan and Blankfeld formed additional business units between 2008 and 2012 under the Genealogy by Genetics company to sell non-genealogical genetic tests. They launched DNA Traits in 2008. In an interview in 2008, Greenspan said "Mendelian disorders are genealogy—we either have had a disaster in our families and therefore we know that someone carries the mutation, or they are hidden and depending upon whom we marry they might create a personal disaster for the family who is a carrier". DNA Traits offers Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-regulated health diagnostic tests to identify genetic disorders and susceptibility to inherited diseases and other characteristics, and serves certified medical professionals and researchers. DNA Findings offers certified relationship tests, including paternity and siblingship tests. DNA DTC was created to serve the Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) market and institutional clients such as life science companies, contract research organizations, academic institutions and public-sector research facilities.
Acquisition of Arpeggi, Inc.
In July 2013, Gene by Gene acquired Austin-based startup Arpeggi, Inc., which wrote alignment and variant-calling computer algorithms for next-generation sequencing data. Arpeggi's founders Jason Wang, Nir Leibovich, and David Mittelman joined Gene by Gene as Chief Technology Officer, Chief Business Officer, and Chief Scientific Officer respectively.