Looks like 23&me may go out of business.

[The Spin Meister]

as it relates to 23 and me they were expecting to have big licensing deal with big Pharma by now. That was the actual business model, has not happened. The first unit to be cut was drug discovery. Could large scale genetic analysis lead to new treatments? Sure, but time ran out on 23 as no sugar daddy came calling. The main target they were banking on was obesity/ metabolic syndrome/ type II diabetes and unfortunately for them the GLIP-1/ incretin agents came on scene and completely altered the landscape in that domain.

The founder is one of Googles main stockholder/founders. She has deep pockets.

Anyone doing business in the genetic/pharmaceutical business knows that startups take 10-15 years or more just to get a drug to market.

If they are facing problems and going under it is very likely they are hitting roadblocks in research/development. Perhaps they are not seeing anything of promise.

If they do go through bankruptcy I would guess a company like Genentech would buy up the data. They have the experience, researchers, and knowledge to properly utilize the database they have built up

 

[Steve G]

If I recall properly, when they were introduced, they quickly got impacted by the government. The FDA considered them a medical device and that put massive constraints on their model.

it is classified as "direct to consumer test". It is not certified as a diagnostic test and hence insurance do not pay for it. Hence the pay out of pocket model. If it had received certification as a diagnostic test CMS and health insurances would likely pay for it. Think the blood tests you get at hospital CBC/ Chem 7 etc or Cologuard as a certified test that is covered by insurance.

 

[LionDeNittany]

The founder is one of Googles main stockholder/founders. She has deep pockets.

Anyone doing business in the genetic/pharmaceutical business knows that startups take 10-15 years or more just to get a drug to market.

If they are facing problems and going under it is very likely they are hitting roadblocks in research/development. Perhaps they are not seeing anything of promise.

If they do go through bankruptcy I would guess a company like Genentech would buy up the data. They have the experience, researchers, and knowledge to properly utilize the database they have built up

The founder wants to buy the company amd the entire board left because it's indefensible what she is doing in terms of spending.

 

[NittanyPirate]

you joke but....

I know a good dr who isn't signed up for donor status on his driver's license. As he explained to me, Drs are analytical. If you are in an accident with a threatening head wound, they look at you and think "I can save four or five people with this heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys". He told me that ten years ago and I laughed at it then I lived through COVID and watched the Netflix movie "Painkiller". I don't laugh so much anymore.

Well… the Joke would be on that doctor and his misguided analytics.

 

[Obliviax]

Well… the Joke would be on that doctor and his misguided analytics.

Yeah, like that never happens

 

[Kasparaitis]

I think that is the correct position for me. I've not done 23&me but I've been to the Dr. I am pretty certain that the Drs can take my blood, or whatever, and do whatever they want with it and I have little to zero control. You want to go to the Dr? You sign and "Apple-like" waiver and off you go. 23&me isn't the only one with access to your DNA

It is illegal for healthcare workers to reveal your personal health information. The law is called HIPAA.

 

[saturdaysarebetter2]

If they took a swab from your nose for your Covid test, they have your DNA.

 

[NittanyPirate]

Yeah, like that never happens

I’m only referring to myself. I wouldn’t wish my liver, lungs, or black heart on anyone.

 

[indynittany]

If they took a swab from your nose for your Covid test, they have your DNA.

"They" being China

 

[Cowbell Man]

it is classified as "direct to consumer test". It is not certified as a diagnostic test and hence insurance do not pay for it. Hence the pay out of pocket model. If it had received certification as a diagnostic test CMS and health insurances would likely pay for it. Think the blood tests you get at hospital CBC/ Chem 7 etc or Cologuard as a certified test that is covered by insurance.

That’s one possible problem, but the cost really wasn’t that much. The main issues remain: the lack of repeatable business (every person is one and done) and immediate negatives outweigh the positives. The long term benefits of such a database are impressive for disease as already discussed, but in general, more often than not than not people find out things they never wanted to know, like their family tree might be a different tree.

 

[indynittany]

That’s one possible problem, but the cost really wasn’t that much. The main issues remain: the lack of repeatable business (every person is one and done) and immediate negatives outweigh the positives. The long term benefits of such a database are impressive for disease as already discussed, but in general, more often than not than not people find out things they never wanted to know, like their family tree might be a different tree.

My kids bought it for me. My father, who passed away when I was only six, had been adopted. So there was a whole family tree I knew virtually nothing about. It has been of some value. However, knowing what I know now, I wish I hadn't done it.

Technology is great, except when it isn't.

 

[Ski]

That’s one possible problem, but the cost really wasn’t that much. The main issues remain: the lack of repeatable business (every person is one and done) and immediate negatives outweigh the positives. The long term benefits of such a database are impressive for disease as already discussed, but in general, more often than not than not people find out things they never wanted to know, like their family tree might be a different tree.

For me, I bought it from Ancestry.com to try to trace my personal ancestry and didn't discover much new since many of the records in Poland don't exist due to partitioning and a couple of World Wars. There are church records, but they use Latin names that are tough to match up to people's Polish names or their Anglicized names after they moved to the US. I get people contacting me all the time indicating we have common relatives, but if they aren't 2nd or 3rd cousins or closer, I find I have no feelings about them one way or another, blood relative or not. My early anticipation of what I might discover faded away relatively quickly.

 

[dailybuck777]

I signed up for 23andMe and it was fairly accurate. It identified the correct provinces that my Italian grandparents were from. Also, it seemed to be accurate with respect to my maternal grandparent who was from england. Interesting to find out. Some risk that the information they received will be misused, but there are way more serious invasions of privacy than this, such as Google and PayPal.