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Marcus Wohlsen, Associated Press/Google, September 8, 2008

A Google-backed startup that analyzes customers' genetic makeup to predict health risks and provide ancestry information has slashed the price on its personal DNA test, the company announced Tuesday.
The decision by 23andMe Inc. to cut the price of its test from $999 to $399 could herald a price war in the small but buzz-heavy marketplace for direct-to-consumer genetic testing. The company's main competitors charge anywhere from just under $1,000 to $2,500 for similar services.

According to 23andMe, next-generation DNA analysis chips have made the process of scanning a person's genes significantly cheaper.

By cutting the price of its service, the company hopes to increase demand and hasten the day when a full genetic screening becomes routine medical practice, said 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki.

"The mission of the company has always been to enable anyone to be able to get access to their genetic information," Wojcicki said.

"We really believe strongly that at some point everyone who's born will be genotyped. You'll have your information and you'll use that to help guide some of your health care decisions."

To spot links between specific genes and individual diseases, scientists compare the DNA of those with the disease to the genes of healthy people. A consistent variation in disease sufferers' DNA can indicate a genetic connection. As a rule, the greater the number of people studied, the more certain the connection.
Along with providing genetic information to individuals, 23andMe is also compiling databases of customers' genetic information to make available to researchers seeking new insights into those links.

The price cut will ideally mean an influx of new information that will speed discoveries in the lab, said Linda Avey, who co-founded the Mountain View-based company last November.

"It's just a data problem," Avey said. "We don't have enough."

According to Avey, one inspiration for the company's new pricing came from the iPod and iPhone, which sold for a similar amount in their early incarnations. The company hopes that consumers will start to see personal gene scans as similarly accessible technology with both serious medical value and gee-whiz appeal.

Though the direct-to-consumer genetics testing industry is still in its infancy, some of Silicon Valley's heaviest finanical hitters are backing several startups, betting that the tests will soon become widespread. Last year, Google Inc. invested $3.9 million in 23andMe. Biotech pioneer Genentech Inc. is another major backer.

But many public health officials warn that research into the connections between genes and most diseases is still too new to be used for making serious medical decisions. They have urged doctors, most of whom lack training in interpreting the results of such tests, to advise skepticism to their patients about direct-to-consumer tests.

Health regulators in New York and California also recently cracked down on many gene-scanning companies, including 23andMe. Authorities have said the companies must show they are complying with state regulations on medical testing.

While the companies have argued they are providing informational rather than medical services, 23andMe and others have tweaked their practices and have been cleared to continue selling the tests to Californians. New York regulators and 23andMe are still working to resolve their differences, said Wojcicki, who is married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

On the Net:
• 23andMe Inc.: http://www.23andme.com

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