Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated

File:Quest Diagnostics logo.svg Logo used since 2018
Company type	Public
Industry	Clinical laboratory, Medical diagnostics
Predecessor	Metropolitan Pathology Laboratory, Inc.; MetPath, Inc.; Corning Clinical Laboratories
Founded	1967 (1967)
Founder	Paul A. Brown, MD
Headquarters	Secaucus, New Jersey , United States
Area served	United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil, worldwide partnerships
Key people	Stephen Rusckowski (CEO)
Products	Diagnostic testing services (cancer, cardiovascular conditions, infectious diseases, neurological disorders, COVID-19, drug screening)
Number of employees	48,000 (2020)
Website	www.questdiagnostics.com

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated is a leading American clinical laboratory and a member of the Fortune 500 list, with operations spanning the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Brazil. The company also maintains partnerships with hospitals and healthcare facilities worldwide.

By 2020, Quest employed nearly 48,000 individuals and reported revenues exceeding $7.7 billion in 2019. Its diagnostic testing portfolio includes services for cancer, cardiovascular conditions, infectious diseases, neurological disorders, COVID-19, as well as drug screening for employment and legal purposes.

1960–1995

Established in 1967 by Paul A. Brown, MD as Metropolitan Pathology Laboratory, Inc., the organization underwent multiple rebrandings, becoming MetPath, Inc. in 1969 with its headquarters located in Teaneck, New Jersey. In 1982, MetPath was purchased by Corning Glass Works and subsequently renamed Corning Clinical Laboratories.

1996–2000

Quest Diagnostics emerged as an independent entity on December 31, 1996, following a spin-off from Corning Incorporated. During this period, Kenneth W. Freeman assumed the role of CEO, guiding the company’s strategic direction. Shortly thereafter, Quest broadened its footprint by acquiring the clinical laboratory segment of Diagnostic Medical Laboratory, Inc. (DML). In 1999, the company further solidified its market position through the acquisition of SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories, which included a joint venture with CompuNet Clinical Laboratory and ownership of LABQUEST, a dedicated medical sample air transport service.

In 1997, Quest joined forces with Banner Health to establish the Sonora Quest laboratory in Arizona, enhancing their presence in that regional market through this collaborative business unit.

2001–2015

Surya Mohapatra served as President and CEO from May 2004 until April 2012. During his tenure, Quest acquired AmeriPath, a company specializing in diagnostic testing equipment. Following Mohapatra’s departure, Stephen Rusckowski—formerly CEO of Philips Healthcare—was appointed to lead Quest. Under Rusckowski’s leadership, Quest partnered with UMass Memorial Health Care, central New England’s largest healthcare system, to acquire its clinical outreach laboratory.

2016–present

In 2016, Quest expanded its service availability by collaborating with Safeway to provide testing at twelve store locations across California, Maryland, Virginia, Texas, and Colorado. By late 2017, Quest had extended its laboratory testing services through partnerships with Walmart at approximately 15 sites in Texas and Florida.

In May 2018, Quest became an in-network laboratory provider for UnitedHealthcare, gaining access to a network of 48 million plan members. Later that year in September, the company moved its corporate headquarters from Madison to Secaucus, New Jersey, enhancing its organizational infrastructure.

November 2018 marked the introduction of QuestDirect—a consumer-driven testing platform allowing individuals to order health and wellness lab tests remotely. Responding swiftly to the COVID-19 crisis beginning in March 2020, Quest performed over 9.2 million molecular tests and approximately 2.8 million serology tests by July.

In April 2024, Quest advanced its AD-Detect product suite by launching a blood test that measures the Alzheimer's-associated protein pTau-217.

In February 2025, Fresenius Medical Care announced that Quest would acquire selected assets from Spectra Laboratories—a prominent provider focused on renal-specific laboratory testing in the United States. Additionally, Quest will deliver comprehensive lab services related to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and specialized water quality testing for patients at Fresenius-operated dialysis centers nationwide.

Acquisitions

Date	Company	Business	Location	Value (USD)	References
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories	Laboratory services	USA	Template:Nts
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	MedPlus, Inc. (Template:NASDAQ)	Healthcare technology solutions	Ohio
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	American Medical Laboratories, Inc. (AML) & LabPortal, Inc.	Healthcare technology services	Virginia	Template:Nts
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Unilab Corporation (Template:NASDAQ)	Healthcare technology services	California	Template:Nts
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	LabOne, Inc. (Template:NASDAQ)	Employer drug screening and paramedical testing	Lenexa, Kansas	Template:Nts
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Focus Diagnostics, Inc.	Laboratory specializing in infectious and immunologic diseases	Virginia	Template:Nts
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Hemocue	Point-of-care diagnostic testing services	Sweden
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	AmeriPath (including subsidiary Specialty Laboratories)	Cancer diagnostic testing services
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Athena Diagnostics	Cancer diagnostic services
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Celera Corporation	Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	'Outreach for UMass Memorial Health	'Laboratory service offerings	'Massachusetts
'Template:Dts\2014'	"Solstas Lab Partners Group"	"Laboratory service provider"	"North Carolina"	"Template:Nts\570000000"
'Template:Dts\2014'	"Summit Health, Inc."	"Healthcare service provider"	""	""	""
'Template:Dts\2015'	"Barnabas Health"	"Laboratory operations management"	"New Jersey"	""	""
'Template:Dts\2017'	"Cleveland HeartLab"	"Laboratory services"	""	""	""
'Template:Dts\2018'	"Oxford Immunotec."	"Provider of laboratory services"	""	""	""
'Template:Dts\2019'	"Boyce & Bynum Pathology Laboratories"	"Laboratory service operations"	""	""	""
'Template:Dts\2020'	'Outreach for Memorial Hermann Health System'	'Outreach laboratory services'	'Houston'
'Template:Dts\2020'	'Hackensack Meridian Health'	'Management of laboratory operations'	'New Jersey'
'2020'	'Blueprint Genetics'	'Genetic testing and sequencing services'	'Helsinki, Finland'	'108,000,000'
'Template:Dts\2021'	'Outreach for Mercy'	'Outreach laboratory service provision'	'USA'
'Template:Dts\2023'	'Outreach for NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital'	'Outreach laboratory service offerings'	'New York City'
'Template:Dts\2023'	'Haystack Oncology'	'Healthcare technology firm focused on cancer diagnostics'	'Hamburg'
'Template:Dts\2024'	'Outreach for Steward Health Care System '	'Outreach laboratory services'	'USA'
'2024'	'Lenco Diagnostic Laboratories'	'Laboratory service provider'	'Brooklyn, New York'
'Template:Dts\2025'	'Spectra Laboratories'	'Provider of laboratory services'	'Rockleigh, New Jersey'

Partnerships

• 2005: Formed a strategic alliance with Ciphergen Biosystems to advance the commercialization of cutting-edge proteomic diagnostics, thereby broadening its range of products and services.

Controversies

Quest Diagnostics encountered notable legal disputes that affected both its financial results and industry standing. In April 2009, the company resolved a Medicare fraud lawsuit by paying $302 million, marking the largest whistleblower settlement ever recorded for a clinical laboratory related to defective testing kits. Subsequently, in May 2011, Quest consented to a $241 million settlement with the state of California over accusations of excessive billing to Medi-Cal and unlawful kickback schemes directed at healthcare providers.

In 2018, Quest became involved in controversies concerning errors in more than 200 cervical smear tests conducted for Ireland's national screening initiative. This situation triggered multiple lawsuits and governmental investigations. Audits uncovered a significant rate of inaccuracies not only by Quest but also by its subcontractor, Clinical Pathology Laboratories, influencing the company’s worldwide operations and resulting in ongoing legal resolutions.

On June 3, 2019, Quest revealed a cybersecurity breach linked to the American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA), a third-party billing collections firm. Unauthorized intrusions compromised sensitive data belonging to roughly 11.9 million patients. The breach led to AMCA's bankruptcy and underscored weaknesses in Quest’s oversight of external vendors within its organizational framework.