By Kayte Spector-Bagdady, JD, MBE & Michele Gornick, PhD, MA
On Thursday, April 6th, the FDA announced that it will allow the direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing company 23andMe to market “Genetic Health Risk” (GHR) tests for 10 diseases or conditions including early-onset Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases. This is in addition to 23andMe’s current offering of ancestry, wellness (e.g., lactose intolerance), trait (e.g., hair color), and autosomal recessive carrier screening (e.g., sickle cell anemia) test reports.
The decade since 23andMe entered the market has been a regulatory labyrinth of twists and turns. But what direction are we headed now?
The way we were
23andMe was a pioneer of the field, entering the DTC genetics market in 2007 with a product offering 13 health-related reports for $999. By December 2013, it was offering more than 250 reports; including carrier status, drug response, and over 100 GHRs. In response to a set of FDA Untitled Letters that went out in 2010, 23andMe filed for de novo 510(K) premarket clearance for some tests… but also concurrently marketed them in a national television and web campaign. Read More