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Navigenics, a leading personal genomics company, announced today that the company has raised approximately $18 million of funding. The Procter and Gamble Company, with a worldwide portfolio of leading consumer brands, has joined existing Navigenics investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and Mohr Davidow Ventures who also participated in this financing round.

“I welcome the partnership of Procter and Gamble. Their extraordinary track record of consumer understanding provides Navigenics with an unparalleled opportunity to understand and serve the needs of our customers,” said Vance Vanier, MD, Navigenics President and CEO. “When combined with their commitment to developing innovative consumer health and wellness products and an expanding focus on health services, P&G’s insight and brand will strengthen Navigenics’ position to embed personal genomics into the prevention dialogue of everyday health care.”

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Navigenics, a leading personal genomics company, announced today that Vance Vanier, MD, has been appointed by the Board of Directors to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of the firm.

Dr. Vanier joined Navigenics as Chief Medical Officer in April of 2008 and has been instrumental in growing the company’s clinical offerings as well as institutional research and corporate partnerships. Prior to joining Navigenics, he was a partner at venture capital firm Mohr Davidow Ventures where he spent years in the molecular diagnostics industry bringing new genomic technologies into clinical practice. Vanier also serves as a clinical faculty member of Stanford University Medical Center.

The permit makes Navigenics the first personalized genomics service to be licensed as a clinical laboratory by the State of New York.

The permit, issued on December 7, gives Navigenics approval for its CLIA-certified clinical laboratory to process saliva samples originating in the State of New York for the purposes of genetic testing. The permit acknowledges that the State’s Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program found the validation data for Navigenics’ test acceptable and clarifies the regulatory framework that Navigenics will operate under in New York moving forward. 

A large new scientific analysis of coffee and tea drinkers has found that these favorites—even the decaf versions – can help reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.

The recent research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that every additional cup of coffee each day was associated with a seven percent reduction in the excess risk of diabetes.

The more tea or coffee a person consumed, the more diabetes risk declined. Drinking three to four cups a day meant about a 25 percent reduced diabetes risk when compared with those who drank between none and two cups day.

Even decaf made a difference.

The federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, or GINA, is now the law of the land. The law, described by the New York Times as the “most important new anti-discrimination law in two decades,” prohibits genetic discrimination in health insurance or on the job.

When it comes to understanding your genetic makeup and using that knowledge to benefit your health, few laws matter more than this one.

An excerpt of the joint letter is below. You can find the complete letter on our website.

Alzheimer’s disease is a tragic neurological condition that affects many of our family members, friends, parents and grandparents. An estimated five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. For every individual with Alzheimer’s, an entire community works to support them in their daily lives.

Alzheimer’s disease is marked by loss of memory, speech, judgment, sense of direction and other brain functions. While currently no cure exists, three risk factors play an important role in your susceptibility.

George, who has a Ph.D. in molecular genetics, was profiled alongside the likes of San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum and Ning co-founder Gina Bianchini, to name a few.

“What’s ‘hot’?” the 7x7 editors mused in describing their selections. “A pitcher with a killer arm, tech wizards bringing Wi-Fi to the world or a gender-bending performance artist? One thing’s for sure: Everyone below is under 40 and has a sense of self that belies their years. We’re just lucky enough to benefit from it.”

Although many women have long feared they are destined to develop breast cancer – one of the leading causes of death among American women – getting exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol consumption and breastfeeding their children can protect many women from this common disease, the analysis determined.

The potential benefit is staggering. In all, more than 70,000 U.S. breast cancer cases could be avoided every year, determined researchers at the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund, which published the report.

“Some studies have suggested that for every person who has been diagnosed with celiac disease, there are likely 30 more who have it but are not diagnosed,” said Mayo gastroenterologist Dr. Joseph Murray in a written release. “And given the nearly quadrupled mortality risk for silent celiac disease we have shown in our study, getting more patients and health professionals to consider the possibility of celiac disease is important.”