Quest Diagnostics

American clinical laboratory company

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated

Company type| Public

Traded as

* NYSE: DGX
* S&P 500 component

Industry| Health care
Founded| 1967; 58 years ago (1967), in New York City, U.S.
Founder| Paul Brown
Headquarters| Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S.

Area served

* United States
* Brazil
* Mexico

Key people

| Jim Davis (CEO)[1]
Services|

* Medical testing
* Molecular diagnostics
* Clinical chemistry

Revenue|  US$9.87 billion (2024)

Operating income

|  US$1.35 billion (2024)

Net income

|  US$871 million (2024)
Total assets|  US$16.2 billion (2024)
Total equity|  US$6.81 billion (2024)

Number of employees

| 56,000 (2024)
Website| questdiagnostics.com
Footnotes / references
[2]

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated is an American clinical laboratory. A Fortune 500 company, Quest operates in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Brazil.[3] Quest also maintains collaborative agreements with various hospitals and clinics across the globe.[4]

As of 2020, the company had approximately 48,000 employees, and it generated more than $7.7 billion in revenue in 2019.[5][6] The company offers access to diagnostic testing services for cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, neurological disorders, COVID-19, and employment and court-ordered drug testing.[7]

## History

[edit]

Interior of a Patient Service Center in Franconia, Virginia

### 1960–1995

[edit]

Originally founded as Metropolitan Pathology Laboratory, Inc. in 1967 by Paul A. Brown, MD, the clinical laboratory underwent a variety of name changes.[8] In 1969, the company's name changed to MetPath, Inc.[9] with headquarters in Teaneck, New Jersey. By 1982, MetPath was acquired by what was then known as Corning Glass Works[10] and was subsequently renamed Corning Clinical Laboratories.[11]

### 1996–2000

[edit]

On December 31, 1996, Quest Diagnostics became an independent company as a spin-off from Corning.[11][12] Kenneth W. Freeman was appointed as CEO during this transition.[13][14] Over the next year, Quest acquired a clinical laboratory division of Branford, Connecticut–based Diagnostic Medical Laboratory, Inc. (DML).[15] Two years later in 1999, Quest added SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories to their subsidiaries;[16][17] which includes a joint venture ownership with CompuNet Clinical Laboratory.[18] The purchase of SmithKline Beecham also included the lab's medical sample transport airline (ICAO: LBQ, call sign: LABQUEST) originally founded in 1988.[19]

In 1997, Quest and Banner Health formed a joint venture creating the Arizona based Sonora Quest laboratory, a business unit of Laboratory Sciences of Arizona.[20] This entity represents the operations of Quest Diagnostics in the Arizona regional market.

### 2001–2015

[edit]

Steve Rusckowski, the chairman, president, and CEO of Quest Diagnostics at the World Economic Forum in 2017

From May 2004 to April 2012, Surya Mohapatra served as the company's President and CEO. In 2007 Quest acquired diagnostic testing equipment company AmeriPath.[21] In response to Mohapatra's resignation after eight years with Quest, former Philips Healthcare CEO Stephen Rusckowski was appointed.[22] Under Rusckowski, Quest Diagnostics teamed up with central New England's largest health care system, UMass Memorial Health Care, to purchase its clinical outreach laboratory.[23]

### 2016–present

[edit]

In 2016, Quest collaborated with Safeway to bring testing services to twelve of its stores in California, Maryland, Virginia, Texas and Colorado.[24]

By the end of 2017, Quest, in partnership with Walmart, incorporated laboratory testing in about 15 of their locations in Texas and Florida.[25]

In May 2018, the company announced it will become an in-network laboratory provider to UnitedHealthcare starting in 2019, providing access to 48 million plan members.[26]

In September 2018, Quest moved its headquarters from Madison, where it was located since 2007, to Secaucus, New Jersey.[27][28]

In November 2018, Quest launched QuestDirect, a consumer-initiated testing service that allows patients to order health and wellness lab testing from home.[29][30]

In March 2020, the company launched a COVID-19 testing service.[31] As of July 2020, Quest had performed more than 9.2 million COVID-19 molecular tests and 2.8 million serology tests.[32]

In April 2024, Quest has added a new blood screening to their AD-Detect product line. This test will analyze the blood for a specific Alzheimer's protein, pTau-217.[33]

In Febuaray 2025, Fresenius Medical Care announced via Helen Giza (CEO, Chair of the management board and acting CFO) that "under terms of a definitive acquisition agreement, Quest will acquire select assets of FME’s wholly owned Spectra Laboratories, a leading provider of renal-specific laboratory testing services in the U.S."

In addition, under a separate agreement, "Quest will provide comprehensive laboratory services related to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and specialized water testing for patients and providers served by dialysis centers operated by Fresenius Medical Care and its wholly owned and joint-venture partners in the United States."[34]

## Acquisitions

[edit]

Date  | Company  | Business  | Location  | Value (USD)  | References

|
|
|
|
|

1999 | SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories | Laboratory  | USA | 1.3×10 ~~^~~ 9 | [35]
2001 | MedPlus, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEDP)  | healthcare technology company  | Ohio |  |
2002 | American Medical Laboratories, Inc. (AML) & LabPortal, Inc.  | healthcare technology company  | Virginia | 500,000,000 |
2003 | Unilab Corporation (Nasdaq: ULAB)  | healthcare technology company  | California | 800,000,000 |
2005 | LabOne, Inc. (Nasdaq: LABS)  | Employer drug testing and paramedical testing division  | Lenexa, Kansas | 934,000,000 |
2006 | Focus Diagnostics, Inc.  | Infectious and immunologic disease laboratory  | Virginia | 185,000,000 |
2007 | Hemocue | point-of-care diagnostic testing  | Sweden |  |
2007 | AmeriPath (and subsidiary Specialty Laboratories)  | cancer diagnostic testing  |  |  |
2011 | Athena Diagnostics  | cancer diagnostic testing  |  |  | [36]
2011 | Celera Corporation | NGS  |  |  | [37]
2013 | Outreach for UMass Memorial Health | Laboratory  | Massachusetts |  | [38]
2014 | Solstas Lab Partners Group  | Laboratory  | North Carolina | 570,000,000 | [39]
2014 | Summit Health, Inc.  |  |  |  | [40]
2015 | Barnabas Health | Laboratory operations  | New Jersey |  | [41]
2017 | Cleveland HeartLab | Laboratory  |  |  | [42]
2018 | Oxford Immunotec.  | Laboratory  |  |  | [43]
2019 | Boyce & Bynum Pathology Laboratories  | Laboratory  |  |  | [44]
2020 | Outreach for Memorial Hermann Health System | Outreach Laboratory  | Houston |  | [45]
2020 | Hackensack Meridian Health | Laboratory operations  | New Jersey |  | [46]
2020  | Blueprint Genetics  | Genetic testing and Sequencing  | Helsinki, Finland  | 108,000,000[47] | [48]
2021 | Outreach for Mercy | Outreach Laboratory  | USA |  | [49]
2023 | Outreach for NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital | Outreach Laboratory  | New York |  | [50]
2023 | Haystack Oncology  | healthcare technology company  | Hamburg |  | [51]
2024 | Outreach for Steward Health Care System  | Outreach Laboratory  | USA |  | [52]
2024  | Lenco Diagnostic Laboratories  | Laboratory  | Brooklyn, New York |  | [53]
2025 | Spectra Laboratories  | Laboratory  | New Jersey |  | [54]

### Partnerships

[edit]

* 2005: Forms a strategic alliance with Ciphergen Biosystems to commercialize novel proteomic tests.[55]

## Controversies

[edit]

Quest Diagnostics set a record in April 2009 when it paid $302 million to the government to settle a Medicare fraud case alleging the company sold faulty medical testing kits. It was the largest qui tam (whistleblower) settlement paid by a medical lab for manufacturing and distributing a faulty product.[56] In May 2011, Quest paid $241 million to the state of California to settle a False Claims Act case that alleged the company had overcharged Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, and provided illegal kickbacks as incentives for healthcare providers to use Quest labs.[57]

In 2018, Quest Diagnostics was among a number of US based labs linked to inaccuracies of over 200 women's cervical smear tests for CervicalCheck, Ireland's national screening program.[58][59] Audits of the testing performed by Quest (and another subcontractor Clinical Pathology Laboratories, Inc. of Austin Texas) showed a high rate of errors in analysis of samples which led to lawsuits[60] and a government inquiry. Quest and the Irish government continue to settle the resulting lawsuits.[61][62]

On June 3, 2019, Quest announced that American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA), a billing collections service provider, had informed Quest Diagnostics that an unauthorized user had access to AMCA’s system containing personal information AMCA received from various entities, including from Quest.[63] AMCA provides billing collections services to Optum360, which in turn is a Quest contractor.[64] AMCA later went bankrupt after the breach.[65]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Quest Diagnostics - Governance - Management Team". Quest Diagnostics Investor Relations. Retrieved January 17, 2023.[self-published source]
2. ^ "Quest Diagnostics: 2024 annual report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 20, 2025. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
3. ^ "International Facilities & Operations". Quest Diagnostics. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
4. ^ "Our Growing International Presence". Quest Diagnostics. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
5. ^ "Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Form 10-K". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. December 31, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
6. ^ Herman, Holly (June 25, 2020). "Quest Diagnostics recalling many furloughed employees as routine testing rebounds". Reading Eagle. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
7. ^ "Annual Reports". Quest Diagnostics. December 31, 2015. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
8. ^ "Quest Diagnostics celebrates 50 years". North Jersey. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
9. ^ "A. Raymond Bessette, 82, investment banker, built skating rink". The Ridgefield Press. March 5, 2013. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
10. ^ "Corning Glass To Buy Metpath". The New York Times. November 20, 1981. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
11. ^ a b "History of Quest Diagnostics Inc". FundingUniverse. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
12. ^ "Corning to Spin Off 2 Subsidiaries to Shareholders". The New York Times. Reuters. November 28, 1996. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
13. ^ Nicolai, Kathryn (February 2018). "Kenneth W. Freeman college of management named after $25 million donation". The Bucknellian. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
14. ^ "Kenneth W. Freeman Named Dean of SMG". BU Today. Boston University. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
15. ^ "Quest Diagnostics Acquires Assets Of Diagnostics Medical Laboratory Inc". Quest Diagnostics. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
16. ^ Nouri, Paul (February 16, 2012). "Investors Should Wait Out Quest And LabCorp". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
17. ^ "A Guide to Being Compassionate During Layoffs". Harvard Business Review. February 25, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
18. ^ "Compunet names new CEO". Dayton Business Journal. October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
19. ^ Tegler, Eric (April 29, 2020). "Appearing nightly, the Quest Diagnostics Air Force". Ars Technica.
20. ^ "Sonora Quest Laboratories Celebrates 20th Anniversary | Newsroom".
21. ^ "Quest Buying AmeriPath For $1.23 Billion". CNBC. Reuters. April 16, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
22. ^ "Surya N. Mohapatra". Columbia Business Schools. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
23. ^ "DGX to Buy UMass Medical Lab (revised)". Yahoo! Finance. October 23, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
24. ^ "Safeway, Quest Diagnostics bring testing services to 12 stores". Supermarket News. June 15, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
25. ^ "Walmart partners with Quest Diagnostics to bring lab testing to 15 stores". pharmacist.com. Retrieved November 7, 2018.[permanent dead link]
26. ^ Coombs, Bertha (May 26, 2018). "Here's why investors are cheering Quest and LabCorp losing their exclusive contracts". CNBC. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
27. ^ "For Murphy, Quest Diagnostics ribbon-cutting is example of what can be". ROI-NJ. September 27, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
28. ^ "Quest Diagnostics to relocate headquarters to Secaucus". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
29. ^ "Quest Launches Patient-Initiated Testing to Address Changing Consumer Preferences". 360Dx. January 17, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
30. ^ "QuestDirect". 360Dx. November 7, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
31. ^ Stankiewicz, Kevin (March 24, 2020). "Two large US private labs say they could soon process 300,000 coronavirus tests per week". CNBC. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
32. ^ "Quest Diagnostics addresses testing capacity and lengthy turnaround times". KERO. July 28, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
33. ^ Hale, Conor (April 22, 2024). "Labcorp, Quest add new blood tests for Alzheimer's, brain tissue damage". Fierce Biotech. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
34. ^ "Fresenius Medical Care Announces Divestment of Select Laboratory Assets to Quest Diagnostics". Fresenius Medical Care. February 25, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
35. ^ "Quest Diagnostics to Complete Acquisition of SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories". Quest. August 9, 1999.
36. ^ "Thermo Fisher to Buy Phadia for $3.5 Billion". DealBook. May 19, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
37. ^ "Quest Diagnostics Successfully Completes Acquisition of Celera" (Press release). Celera Corporation. May 17, 2011. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
38. ^ "Quest Diagnostics Acquires UMass Memorial Medical Center's Clinical and Anatomic Pathology Outreach Laboratory Businesses". Quest Diagnostics Newsroom. January 2, 2013.
39. ^ "Quest Diagnostics Acquires Solstas for $570M". News: Industry Watch (paper). Vol. 34, no. 4\. February 15, 2014. p. 10.
40. ^ "Quest Diagnostics Completes Acquisition of Summit Health - Apr 21, 2014". Quest Diagnostics. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
41. ^ "Quest Diagnostics, Barnabas Health Enter Into Strategic Laboratory Partnership To Deliver High-value And Innovative Diagnostic Information Services". Quest Diagnostics Newsroom. December 10, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
42. ^ Christ, Ginger (October 19, 2017). "Quest Diagnostics to acquire Cleveland Clinic spinoff Cleveland HeartLab". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
43. ^ "Quest buying U.S. lab services unit from British firm". ROI-NJ. September 25, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
44. ^ "Quest acquires BBPL's clinical lab services assets". ROI-NJ. February 12, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
45. ^ "Quest Diagnostics Acquires Outreach Operations of Memorial Hermann Health System". 360Dx. January 27, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
46. ^ "Quest Diagnostics (DGX) Ties Up With Hackensack Meridian Health". Yahoo Finance. December 28, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
47. ^ www.sec.gov https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1022079/000102207920000107/R39.htm. Retrieved April 16, 2025. `{{cite web}}`: Missing or empty `|title=` (help)
48. ^ "Quest Diagnostics Acquires Blueprint Genetics to Broaden Access to Actionable Insights for Genetic and Rare Diseases". January 22, 2020.
49. ^ "Quest Diagnostics Completes Acquisition of Mercy's Outreach Laboratory Services Business". Quest Diagnostics Newsroom. June 1, 2021.
50. ^ Redmond, Kimberly. "Quest finalizes acquisition of certain New York-Presbyterian lab services". NJBiz. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
51. ^ "Quest Diagnostics Completes Acquisition of Haystack Oncology" (Press release). Secaucus, N.J. June 21, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
52. ^ "Quest Diagnostics Acquires Select Assets of Steward Health Care System's Outreach Lab Biz". 360Dx. January 8, 2024.
53. ^ "List of Material Transactions". www.health.ny.gov. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
54. ^ "Fresenius Medical Care Announces Divestment of Select Laboratory Assets to Quest Diagnostics". freseniusmedicalcare.com. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
55. ^ "Ciphergen Biosystems and Quest Diagnostics Form Strategic Alliance to Develop and Commercialize Tests Using Ciphergen's Proteomics Technology". July 22, 2005. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
56. ^ "Businessman exposed problems with Quest subsidiary's blood test kits; led to $302 million settlement" (Press release). Phillips & Cohen LLP. April 15, 2009.
57. ^ "Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announces $241 million settlement with Quest Diagnostics" (Press release). State of California Department of Justice. May 19, 2011.
58. ^ O'Brien, Tim (May 2, 2018). "CervicalCheck 10-year timeline". The Irish Times.
59. ^ O’Regan, Eilish (May 2, 2018). "US company used by CervicalCheck had to pay €100,000 in fines over safety breach". Irish Independent. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
60. ^ "Lab companies Quest and CPL at center of lawsuits in Ireland over missed cervical cancer diagnoses". CBS News. June 29, 2018.
61. ^ https://www.irishcentral.com/news/quest-diagnostics-cervical-cancer-scandal-lab-appeal. Archived February 7, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
62. ^ "Seriously ill woman's action over cervical smears adjourned for two weeks". The Irish Times.
63. ^ "11.9M Quest Diagnostics Patients Impacted by AMCA Data Breach". HealthITSecurity. June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
64. ^ Locker, Melissa (June 3, 2019). "A medical collections agency got hacked, and now your personal data might be exposed". Fast Company. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
65. ^ "Bloomberg - Debt Collector Goes Bankrupt After Health Care Data Hack". Bloomberg. June 17, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Business data for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated:

* Google
* SEC filings
* Yahoo!

Authority control databases |

* ISNI

|