Genetic testing leader Invitae recently acquired consumer health tech company Ciitizen for $325m, split between $125m and approximately 7m shares of Invitae stock.
While a medical genetics business and a digital record compiler share few similarities at first glance, the strategy behind the deal comes into focus when looking at the driving themes behind each company.
- Ciitizen is a patient-centric platform that enables users to organize their medical records in order to optimize their own care or contribute the data towards a different goal, such as rare disease research. CEO Anil Sethi founded Ciitizen in 2017 after having a difficult time accessing his sister’s health records while she was battling cancer.
- Invitae is on a mission to bring comprehensive genetic information to mainstream medicine. The company is attempting to aggregate global genetic test results into a single user-friendly service that makes the information accessible to anyone with patient consent.
- Both companies share a common goal that might be better served by working together: data accessibility. Whether unstructured health records or disjointed genetic test results, each business is seeking to improve the utility of hard-to-reach data.
The Takeaway
As genomics transitions from a laboratory testing-based industry to an information industry, Invitae is aiming to develop a platform that allows patients to make use of their data. The acquisition of Ciitizen gives Invitae the ability to create a centralized hub for genomic and clinical information, a dynamic dataset with the potential to drive better research and health outcomes.
