Fulgent Genetics Review Summary
Summary
Fulgent Genetics is a clinical genetic testing company specializing in various conditions, including hereditary cancer, heart health, and next-generation sequencing. These tests can only be ordered through a medical professional, and costs are not available publicly online.
7 Facts from our Fulgent Genetics Review
- Location: El Monte (Temple City), CA
- Products: Fulgent Genetics offers various products that include gene panels for certain conditions, tests for known mutations, and sequencing services
- Ordering: Customers make orders online or at a doctor’s office
- Reports: Help to make decisions in consultation with a medical doctor
- Data availability: Data download is not available for most tests
- Costs: Not available online. Quotes available by calling the company.
- Complimentary products: Nebula Genomics (Whole Genome Sequencing that can be used in consultation with a medical professional)
This review is written with the intent to be as unbiased as possible. However, it represents the opinion of an individual reviewer and is therefore subjective. Furthermore, at Nebula Genomics we seek to educate the public about the benefits of Whole Genome Sequencing. Information about our Whole Genome Sequencing DNA test is therefore incorporated into the review.
October 12, 2023
Table of contents
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The company offers a vast range of products
- User-friendly technology platform
- Doctors can decide the best product for their patients
- Provides clinical diagnostics
Cons
- Only doctors can order test kits
- Results are complicated and intended to be interpreted by genetic counselors
- The company does not make the costs of testing known to the public
Introduction
Fulgent Genetics is a clinical next-generation sequencing firm based in two locations: main headquarters in El Monte, California, and a smaller branch in Houston, Texas. The advanced genetic technology company is dedicated to everything genetics, including testing, bulk distribution of kits to institutions, genetic counseling, and sequencing services.
The company was founded in 2011. Ming Hsieh, who serves as chairman and CEO, heads it. As a company that offers testing and counseling, patients can easily book an appointment at any of the offices or online.
Patients could book an appointment at their doctor’s office or a one time appointment upon personal request. As with most genetic testing companies, patients will provide their medical records and family history to determine if they qualify for any of the services. If they receive a test based on a doctor’s order, a copy of the result will be provided to both the doctor and the patient.
According to Fulgent’s mission, its major drive is to provide patients with affordability, flexibility, and a quick response. Its reduced pricing is one of its most impressive features and has gained a lot of popularity.
Following the rise of COVID-19 tests, the company focused on delivering COVID 19 testing. It also has an offshoot company, Picture Genetics, focusing on easy at-home testing.
Review of Fulgent Genetics
The company offers a wide range of genetic panels for various conditions. The website divides them into categories to help customers find their conditions of interest. There are other categories for hereditary cancer, newborn genetics, tumor profiling, and carrier screening.
Ordering a Fulgent Genetics test
Customers would usually need to buy the DNA test kit online. However, it is important to note that Fulgent Genetics kits are for physicians, genetic counselors, or other medical professionals. Also, the costs of tests vary, and institutional, insurance, and self-pay pricing are available. If a patient wants to perform a genetic test, the best option is to contact their physician to place the order.
Order the kit online: Patients should contact their doctor to order a kit. Medical professionals can order kits for their patients online by clicking on the “request kits” menu and following the instructions.
There are four different types of kits:
- General Kits
- Beacon Carrier Screening Kits
- Somatic Solid Tumor Kits
- Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy (PGT-A) Kits
If ordering a general kit or a beacon carrier screening kit, you can choose the type of specimen collection. Either the two EDTA blood tubes or the one saliva collection kit are preferred, but the buccal/cheek swab collection method is also an option.
All Fulgent test kits contain the following
- A Fulgent Test Requisition Form
- A specimen transport bag
- A set of specimen containers
For general testing, either:
- Fulgent saliva collection kit
- 2 EDTA purple top tubes
- 1 buccal/cheek swab
For somatic testing:
- slide mailers
For preimplantation genetic testing:
- sample tubes/rack
- Additional materials are specific to the type of kit requested.
Taking a Fulgent Genetics test
To perform the test, most kits require several drops of blood, a saliva collection, or a cheek swab. Certain tests may need rore complex tissues. Your doctor will discuss these collection methods with you.
In most cases, you can collect the sample at home and return it to the laboratory for sequencing and analysis. You must print out a completed requisition form and include it. Ensure that you collect the samples correctly, and fill in all required information on the tube labels. Then, you just need to insert them and the form into the shipping bag provided and mail it to the lab, where technicians will sequence your data.
The company sends the results to the doctor who ordered the test. Patients can follow up with their doctor or a genetic counselor to discuss the results and any future medical decisions.
Review of Fulgent Genetics Products
Fulgent Genetics offers genetic services for every significant issue and condition. The firm’s major products are:
Genes & Panels
The firm boasts over 800+ tests and 18,000+ genes. If gene professionals cannot find a panel that suits a patient’s needs, they can create a Custom NGS panel using any of the 18,000+ genes.
To help patients and doctors find what they need, Fulgent divides the panels into the following categories:
- Hereditary Cancer
- Blood
- Cardiovascular
- Dental
- Endocrine
- Epilepsy
- Eye
- Hearing
- Immune
- Liver
- Lung
- Metabolic
- Muscular/skeletal
- Neurological
- Renal
- Reproductive genetics
- Skin
Once they select a category, customers will see a list of specific conditions they may want to focus on, such as cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia, under the cardiovascular category.
Each panel comes with a description of the test that includes information on the conditions involved and who should take it.
This page contains more information on the genes tested for, the coverage, and specimen collection. Physicians can also get information on test limitations, diagnostic potential, and clinical information such as the CPT codes.
Known Mutation
Some patients may be interested in only one or a few genes specific to their family history. In this case, Fulgent Genetics offers rapid and accurate testing of specific mutations using innovative sequencing methodology. Detection status is reported in a concise report.
Genomic Testing
The firm boasts that its exome sequencing options are patient-centric, phenotype-driven analyses. They are designed to examine coding regions and splice junctions for thousands of genes and report only the variants that may be clinically relevant to your patient.
Hereditary Cancer
Fulgent Focus Cancer Panels target 30 genes associated with high/moderate risk for hereditary cancers and clinical management guides for disease-causing variants. These panels balance the detection of pathogenic cancer susceptibility mutations and minimize the number of reported variants of unknown clinical significance.
Interested in testing for hereditary cancer? You may be interested in these posts:
Carrier Screening
Fulgent’s Beacon Carrier Screening Tests claim to analyze possible pathogenic carrier mutations for over 400 conditions.
Tumor Profiling
Fulgent’s Solid Tumor Molecular Profile targets 170 cancer-related genes carefully selected to provide a comprehensive analysis of therapeutically relevant changes as well as those being studied in current and upcoming clinical trials.
Sequencing Service
Fulgent provides comprehensive NGS-based clinical and research sequencing services with acclaimed competitive prices and fast turnaround times. The firm’s sequencing service includes:
- Whole Genome & Whole Exome Sequencing
- Methylation Sequencing
- RNA Sequencing
- Mitochondrial DNA Sequencing
- Rent-a-Lane Services
- Oncology
- Single Cell
Review of Fulgent Genetics Cost
Fulgent claims to provide some of the most affordable prices for its genetic services. Unlike competitors, the company keeps its costs private and only makes them available by calling for a quote.
Review of a Fulgent Genetics Report
The firm publishes monthly blog reports related to genetics. The patient reports for each customer are provided to the doctor who ordered the test. The results are clinical and should only be interpreted by a healthcare professional.
Review of Fulgent Genetics Privacy
Fulgent Genetics is extremely confidential with users’ details and always seeks to keep customers’ data safe. The policy highlights that PHI (Protected Health Information), which includes demography, medical history, laboratory results, and other health information, is used to generate genetic testing results and for billing purposes.
This information may also be used for treatment, payment, healthcare procedures, research, and other operations as mentioned in the policy.
Fulgent Genetics will share your information with what it calls “Business Associates” who provide services, potentially leading to privacy breaches if these associates do not have robust data protection measures in place.
Other Fulgent Genetics Reviews
Since this company is a clinical diagnostic firm and tests are ordered through a doctor’s office, there are not many commercial reviews of the services.
By 2023, 12 Facebook users gave the company’s page 3.3 out of 5 stars.
Fulgent Genetics in the News
- Fulgent had what The Motley Fool called “impressive growth” in 2022.
- Fulgent Genetics launched a new beacon787 expand career screening panel earlier in 2023.
- Later, in April 2023, the company launched The Mission Bio Platform, which helps in biomarker discovery, clinical research, and single-cell measurable residual disease development at scale.
Nebula Genomics
Getting your DNA analyzed by a company like Fulgent Genetics is a big step. You will need to work closely with your doctor and/or genetic counselor to order the correct kit. Then, the results will be interpreted in a follow-up appointment – you will not be able to read the results yourself. On the other hand, because the results are so carefully collected and analyzed, they are diagnostic tests that can be used to plan long-term treatment and act as an official diagnosis.
Not everyone, especially those without a family history of disease, needs diagnostic DNA testing. That’s why companies like Nebula Genomics provide accurate, comprehensive DNA testing for everyone, everywhere. Nebula Genomics offers 30x Whole-Genome Sequencing, just like Fulgent, which sequences 100% of a patient’s DNA. This is much higher coverage than most other DNA testing companies, which only sequence 0.2%.
Nebula Genomics offers this comprehensive service for $299 or less. We also provide regular updates on the most recent genetic research so that you can get the most out of your DNA sequencing. Unlike Fulgent Genetics, results are encouraged to be analyzed by the customer, allowing you to continually explore your genome and learn new insights from your computer or mobile device.
| Fulgent Genomics | Nebula Genomics | |
| DNA testing method | Sequencing of up to 18,000 genes | Sequencing all 20,000 genes and regulatory regions |
| Ancestry reporting | Limited | Perform deep ancestry reporting with the complete Y chromosome and mtDNA sequencing |
| Data access | Patients can access data at request | Patients can access data at request |
| Cost | Physicians must call for a quote | $0, $99, $299 |
| Report for making medical decisions | Yes | No, but data is of the highest quality and can be used by physicians and genetic counselors |
You can read about other clinical genetic testing companies on our blog.
Other companies:
Diagnostics and disease risks:
- Ambry Genetics (risks of various disease types)
- Color (risks of cancer, genetic forms of heart disease, and medication responses)
- GeneDx (wide variety of clinical genomic tests)
- Map My Gene (innate talents for children and disease risks)
- Oral DNA Labs (specialized diagnostic tool for oral health)
- Parsley Health (holistic medicine and health plans)
- Pathway Genomics (DNA tests for various health aspects, may be used in consultation with medical providers)
Includes carrier status:
- Integrated Genetics (pre- and post-pregnancy tests)
- Invitae (diagnostics, proactive health, and reproductive health)
- Myriad Genetics (diagnostics, reproductive tests, and precision medicine tests)
- Sema4 (oncology, women’s health, carrier screening, and hereditary cancer)
- Veritas Genetics (disease risks and carrier screenings)
Mental health:
- GeneSight (clinical genomic test for psychotropics)
- Genomind (pharmacogenomic testing for mental health treatment)
Rare diseases:
Tumor genetics for personalized treatment:
- Decipher Biosciences (tumor genetics for urologic cancers)
- Foundation Medicine (genetic analysis on solid tumors)
- Natera (circulating DNA for hereditary cancer and other diagnoses)
- Tempus (oncology, mental health, and infectious disease treatment)
