Genzyme selling genetic testing unit (Morning Read)

Highlights of the important and interesting in the world of healthcare:

Genzyme selling genetic testing unit. Cambridge, Mass., biotech firm Genzyme Corp. is selling its genetic testing business to Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings for $925 million so it can focus on its core growth areas, according to the Associated Press in the News & Observer.

Being first is overrated. Executives with Dallas-based Market Center Management Co., who plan to build a 12-story Medical Trade Center on top of the existing Nashville Convention Center, said it may not be critical to be first in the race with Cleveland and New York City, according to the Nashville Business Journal.

Shorter the better. Drug companies that used one Food and Drug Administration mechanism to advance their drugs developed them in nine years, while those using two or three mechanisms shortened the time to 6.7 years, and companies that used all four mechanisms trimmed the interval to 5.3 years, according to a study by Deloitte Recap in Xconomy.

Attention, Kmart shoppers. Kmart’s pharmacies now offer free ultrasound screenings for abdominal aortic aneurysms to customers, according to the Wall Street Journal Health blog.

Meta-analysis not everything. Three FDA staffers have offered a cautionary word about the usefulness of meta-analysis in a perspective piece that suggests reacting too quickly to any findings may not be a good thing for patients, according to the Pharmalot blog.

Stop transferring patients. Reducing the unnecessary transfer of patients between hospitals may be a way to decrease U.S. health-care system costs, a study by Surgical Systems and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego, suggests, reports drugs.com.