Quest Diagnostics' Laboratory in India Accredited by Two Leading Laboratory Accrediting Organizations

Madison, New Jersey and Gurgaon, India, November 17 (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Less than one tenth of one percent of labs in India are CAP and
NABL accredited

- Quest Diagnostics' laboratory also becomes one of only five
labs in India to achieve NGSP certification for Hemoglobin A1c
testing for diabetes

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading
provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, today
announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Quest Diagnostics India
Pvt. Ltd. has 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 in India, for its
diagnostic and clinical trials laboratory in Gurgaon, India.
Accreditation by CAP and NABL is widely regarded in the international
diagnostic industry as signifying that a laboratory performs
diagnostic testing at the highest quality standards.

In addition, the National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program
(NGSP) has awarded Level I Laboratory Certification to the Quest
Diagnostics' laboratory in Gurgaon. Level I Laboratory Certification,
which is recommended by NGSP for laboratories conducting
diabetes-related clinical trials, indicates that a facility's testing
fulfills NGSP's rigorous standards for delivering accurate hemoglobin
A1c (HbA1c) testing for diabetes. The Quest Diagnostics lab is one of
only five laboratories in India to be certified by the international
program. 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.

"Accreditation by both CAP and NABL is a major accomplishment
because it indicates to physicians, hospitals, pharmaceutical
companies and patients that all major areas of a laboratory's
operations exhibit the highest level of quality assurance," said
Palat Krishna Menon, M.D., Ph.D., medical director for Quest
Diagnostics India Pvt. Ltd. "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."

The accreditation programs of CAP and NABL are designed to
promote laboratory excellence by certifying only those laboratories
that fulfill 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.

Quest Diagnostics began operating its 65,000 square-foot,
state-of-the-art laboratory in Gurgaon, a satellite city of 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(R)
brand.

About CAP

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) is a medical society
serving more than 17,000 physician members and the laboratory
community throughout the world. It is the world's largest association
composed exclusively of pathologists and is widely considered the
leader in laboratory quality assurance. The CAP is an advocate for
high-quality and cost-effective medical care. For more information,
visit www.cap.org.

About NABL

NABL is an autonomous body under the government of India's
department of science and technology. It was established to promote
competence of testing and calibration laboratories through
third-party accreditation. NABL assesses medical laboratories against
the International Organization of Standardization (ISO)'s 15189
standard for medical laboratories. NABL has signed mutual recognition
agreements with Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation
(APLAC) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation
(ILAC). For more information, visit www.nabl-india.org.

About NGSP

The National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (NGSP) aims
to establish standards for HbA1c clinical laboratory testing across
the diagnostic industry. The NGSP was formed in 1996 after the
seminal Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) demonstrated
that HbA1c levels correlate with a patient's risk of developing
diabetes disease complications, such as heart disease. The
International Diabetes Federation and American Diabetes Association
recommend treatment goals for patients with diabetes largely on HbA1c
levels. For more information, visit www.ngsp.org.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics is the world's leading provider of diagnostic
testing, information and services that patients and doctors need to
make better healthcare decisions. The company offers the broadest
access to diagnostic testing services through its network of
laboratories and patient service centers, and provides interpretive
consultation through its extensive medical and scientific staff.
Quest Diagnostics is a pioneer in developing innovative new
diagnostic tests and advanced healthcare information technology
solutions that help improve patient care. Additional company
information is available at www.questdiagnostics.com.

ots Originaltext: Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Laure Park (Investors): +1-973-520-2900, or Wendy Bost (Media):
+1-973-520-2800, both for Quest Diagnostics