PITTSBURGH, PA, December 17, 1996 – The University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (currently Corning
Clinical Laboratories) have signed a letter of intent to explore joint ventures in
laboratory testing, medical informatics and molecular diagnostics research, it was
announced today by both organizations. If this proposed partnership comes to fruition, it
would be one of the country's largest joint ventures combining the resources of a
for-profit clinical testing laboratory with those of a major academic medical center.
Under discussion are various scenarios that would use the resources and medical
expertise of both organizations in laboratory processing and quality oversight. The
purpose of this collaboration is to provide high quality service at a low cost. Combining
laboratory services would lead to significant economies. These cost savings would not only
benefit UPMC and its affiliated organizations but also would be made available to other
healthcare facilities throughout the region.
UPMC has developed a medical information system called MARS. Under discussion with
Quest Diagnostics is a plan to test this system in their high volume laboratory. Joint
research projects in the area of genetic testing through molecular diagnostics also are
under discussion.
Quest Diagnostics is one of the country's largest clinical testing laboratories.
It is being spun off as an independent company by Corning Incorporated at the end of the
year. The tests it performs on human tissue and fluids help in the diagnosis, treatment
and monitoring of diseases from Aids to cancer. Quest Diagnostics processes and provides
data on 60 million requisitions for specimens annually and had revenues last year of $1.6
billion. Quest Diagnostics performs a wide variety of tests in 17 regional labs and 14
smaller branch labs across the United States and in a branch lab in Mexico City. Its
research arm, Nichols Institute, specialized in advanced technology testing.
The UPMC is one of this country's leading medical research centers, ranking tenth
in federal funding from the National Institutes of Health. It is internationally
recognized for its work in transplantation, cancer and AIDS. In response to the economic
changes occurring in the healthcare industry, the UPMC has launched an aggressive plan
that will assure its survival in a cost-conscious managed care market. Elements of this
plan include the development of an integrated network of hospitals throughout Western
Pennsylvania, acquisition of insurance products and collaborative relationships with major
carriers, acquisition of physicians' practices and development of a for-profit arm to
provide ancillary healthcare services and foster mutually beneficial business
relationships with major corporations.