ABOUT NEOGEN LABS

In January 2005, my wife and I had a baby boy, Ayden. By all appearances, he was a normal, healthy child doing what newborns do best; sleeping and crying when hungry. The hospital he was born in participated in a Newborn Screening (NBS) Program. The screening tests detected G6PD Deficiency, an Inborn Error of Metabolism (IEM). G6PD Deficiency can be fatal in some cases but is very easily treatable, if identified at birth.
 
As a parent, this incident made me realize the benefits of screening infants for IEMs (also commonly referred to as Metabolic Disorders). A simple concept with very powerful implications; detecting and treating disorders before symptoms appear, thereby saving numerous lives. Screening is mandated in the US (where all states screen newborns for over 40 metabolic disorders) and other western countries.
 
Dr. Rohit Cariappa, and I moved to India and formed NeoGen Labs in June 2006 to offer the First Step Newborn Screening Test to screen newborns for IEMs. We had a simple goal – offer a reasonably priced, accurate screening test that physicians can rely on. No shortcuts, no compromises. After all, we are dealing with a life that is precious! We are now in our 17th year of operations and we continue to operate with the same principles on which NeoGen was founded.
 
Every newborn in the US is screened and we want to ensure that parents of all newborns in India get the same opportunity. And, for those newborns that test positive, NeoGen Labs will support the physicians and parents in their efforts in treating the newborn, so that they can lead a normal, healthy life.
 
We worked with the best vendors in the world to set up a lab that is benchmarked against the best in the industry. We entered into a Technology Licensing Agreement with PerkinElmer Genomics, (formerly Pediatrix Screening), Bridgeville, USA, the world’s leading company in Newborn Screening. We have built on this technology based on our experiences screening infants the past 16 years. We also partner with LabSystems, Zentech and Bio-Rad, who provide screening assays to NeoGen. EBF, who hold the worldwide rights for 903 filter paper for NBS, custom manufactures the filter paper collection forms for us.
 
I hope this conveys the importance of newborn screening. You could spend a lot of money on gifts for an infant, but the gift of a newborn screening test will last a lifetime! As for Ayden, he has turned 18 and is doing what teenagers excel in (driving their parents crazy).
 
Thomas Mookken
CEO
 
September 2022