iCellate Medical discontinues direct-to-consumer sales of its GeneMate® service

Stockholm, Sweden – July 6, 2023 - iCellate Medical discontinues D2C sales of its GeneMate® service. GeneMate® combines DNA sequencing with an analysis of family cancer history to provide a comprehensive assessment of an individual’s hereditary cancer risk. The service will be discontinued as the company focuses its resources on its CellMate® platform for detection and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs). CellMate® is developed for early cancer detection and precision diagnostics.

GeneMate® has primarily been marketed directly to consumers in Sweden and the UK since its launch in 2021, with the long-term goal to become a provider to the public healthcare system. Despite long queues for hereditary assessments via public healthcare and GeneMate®’s attractive price point, the Swedish healthcare system has shown little interest.

“GeneMate® has helped so many people access genetic testing, and thereby screening programs or preventive care for those with hereditary cancer risk. It’s a bummer to have to pause the service, even if temporarily,” says Anna Hellquist, genetic counselor at iCellate Medical.

Roughly 10% of all cancer is hereditary. Families with several cases of the same cancer type or early onset cancer may qualify for a hereditary assessment via public healthcare. The specific qualification criteria are relatively strict, and not everyone who seeks out an assessment will meet these criteria. GeneMate® has served as a direct-to-consumer alternative for those who may not otherwise have been able to access testing and has been appreciated by many.

iCellate continues to engage with both the NHS (National Health Service) in the UK and the Swedish healthcare system to find ways to together work to shorten queues and even offer testing to newly diagnosed cancer patients to aid in treatment prediction.

”In the long term it feels right to focus our efforts on our CTC platform. On the other hand, it’s a shame to discontinue a service that has been so greatly appreciated by many. The news comes as a disappointment to our partners in private healthcare, our employees, and last but not least our valued customers,” says Iohn Ryott, COO at iCellate Medical.

The last run of consumer samples will be processed at the end of the summer. The last day to order is July 14, 2023.

iCellate remains open to collaboration with public healthcare and will continue to pursue these opportunities despite the discontinuation of direct-to-consumer sales.

iCellate is a Swedish life science company founded in 2011 with its laboratory and office located in Stockholm. iCellate develops cancer diagnostic services across the cancer lifecycle, from hereditary cancer risk (GeneMate®) to early detection, treatment prediction and treatment monitoring (CellMate®). The technologies are based on research from the Karolinska Institute in collaboration with the Karolinska University Hospital.

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