Reuters Reports:23andMe, an online company funded by Google that is selling a personal DNA test for $999, has made its debut as a kind of genetics-focused MySpace or Facebook, but with the more serious aim of allowing medicine someday to target Americans' ills more precisely.
Users sign up for the DNA saliva test online and receive and return it by mail. Four to six weeks later, their results are online, allowing them to learn about their inherited traits, their ancestry and - with the help of a professional to look at the data, in most cases - some of their personal disease risks.
The Web site, which takes its name from the 23 pairs of chromosomes that make up the human genome, says it will display more than 500,000 data points in users' genomes in a format they can visualize and understand.
"Compare your genetic blueprint to your friends and family," the site invites.
Later, when the company's database is much larger, users will have the option of taking part in scientific studies that could help researchers determine things like who is in danger of having a life-threatening drug reaction or who may be more likely to benefit from a specific cancer treatment.
"The mission of 23andMe is to take the genetic revolution to a new level," said one of its founders, Linda Avey.
"There wasn't an effective way for people to contribute," said Anne Wojcicki, a fellow founder who has a background in health care investing and is married to Sergey Brin, a Google co-founder.
The site does not make interpretations about a user's risk for getting cancers, Alzheimer's disease or diabetes, although in some cases, users could get help from genetic counselors or other experts to make basic assessments.
As technology has made it easier to find and share information, security and privacy issues have become critical. The protection of genetic information is particularly important to many consumers, who fear that insurers or other groups may use genetic data to deny coverage to or discriminate against people predisposed to develop a serious disease.
23andMe's founders say the personal data in their system is secure and under the user's control, protected by more than a dozen levels of authentication and encryption from the lab to the user.
The two women said that aggregated genomic data would eventually be made available to people outside 23andMe for study, but would never be sold.
"The data will not leave 23andMe," said Avey, who came to the project with sales and business development experience in the biopharmaceutical industry.
While the project's goal is to tackle dreaded diseases and is in early stages on projects with Autism Speaks and the Parkinson's Institute, Avey said one of the company's primary aims was to make a complex subject more appealing by giving individuals information about their own genes.
For example, users could begin to understand why they dislike certain flavors or foods, or whether they share a maternal ancestor with celebrities like the singer Jimmy Buffett, a 23andMe user.
Besides Google, the company's other early investors include the biotechnology company Genentech and New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital company.
Competitors to 23andMe include deCODE Genetics of Iceland and Navigenics, a company based in Silicon Valley and backed by $25 million in funding from the top-flight venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital and Mohr Davidow Ventures.
More at:https://www.23andme.com/
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