Quest Diagnostics India Pvt Ltd, the wholly-owned subsidiary of QD Inc. has been awarded the National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Programme (NGSP) Level I Laboratory Certification.

The facility located in Gurgaon was recommended by NGSP for laboratories conducting diabetes-related clinical trials. The facility has fulfilled the NGSP's rigorous standards for delivering accurate haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing for diabetes. The Quest Diagnostics lab is one of only five laboratories in India to be certified by the international programme. The prevalence of type-2 diabetes in India is expected to grow more rapidly than in any developed or developing nation, climbing from 28 million patients in 2007 to more than 60 million by 2017.

"Level 1 certification by NGSP is also an important achievement because it means that physicians and pharmaceutical companies can trust that our HbA1c testing results in India correlate to the most rigorous global standards and provide the basis for making reliable treatment decisions for patients with diabetes," said Palat Krishna Menon, medical director, Quest Diagnostics India Pvt Ltd.

It has also received certificates of accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP), a leading international laboratory accrediting organization and the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), the sole government-authorized laboratory accreditation body for its diagnostic and clinical trials laboratory in Gurgaon. Accreditation by CAP and NABL is regarded in the international diagnostic industry as the highest quality standards.

The accreditation programmes of CAP and NABL are designed to promote laboratory excellence by certifying only those centres that fulfil rigorous criteria for quality assurance. Both accrediting organizations conduct onsite audits to evaluate quality processes and other facets of a lab's operations, and only accredit those labs that demonstrate the highest quality standards. CAP and NABL investigators accredited the Quest Diagnostics' facility in Gurgaon approximately two months after performing separate onsite audits in September 2008. More than 100,000 diagnostic laboratories operate in India according to estimates, but only approximately a dozen are NABL and CAP accredited, stated Dr Menon.

Quest Diagnostics began operating its 65,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art laboratory in Gurgaon, near Delhi, in March 2008. The business offers the broadest range of diagnostic and wellness testing services in the industry, including esoteric testing, clinical trials central lab and support services, and risk assessment services to life insurance companies under the ExamOne brand.