23andMe is in a expiry spiral . Almost everyone who want a DNA test already buy one , anightmare information rupture ruined the party ’s repute , and 23andMe ’s stock is so close to wretched it might get kicked off the Nasdaq . CEO Anne Wojcicki is on a crisis tour , promising investors the company is n’t go out of business because she has a new architectural plan : 23andMe is going to double down on mine your deoxyribonucleic acid data and selling it to pharmaceutical companies .
“ We now have the power to mine the dataset for ourselves , as well as to partner with other grouping , ” Wojcicki say in an interview withWired . “ It ’s a real resource that we could apply to a number of different organizations for their own drug find . ”
That ’s been part of the plan since Clarence Day one , but now it looks like it ’s proceed to happen on a much orotund scale . 23andMe has always coerced its customer into giving the company consent to apportion their DNA for “ research , ” a friendly way of allege “ give it to pharmaceutical company . ” The company enjoy an exclusive partnership with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline , but apparently the drug maker already fellate the value out of your desoxyribonucleic acid , and that deal is run out . Now , 23andMe is looking for new companies who want to take a look at your factor .
Photo: Justin Sullivan / Staff (Getty Images)
Wired asked Wojcicki if her customers are aware that opting in to enquiry also means opting in to giving pharmaceutic partner their data . Wojcicki did n’t answer that dubiousness directly . “ It ’s not individual - degree data , unless they explicitly consented for individual - tier data , ” she said . “ I think that most people want to see improvements in their life story , ” and the company ’s multimillion - dollar deals are necessary for those betterment .
According to Wojcicki , the most exciting opportunity for “ improvements ” is that 23andMe and the pharmaceutic industry get to develop new drugs . There ’s a tinge of irony here . Any discoveries that 23andMe do fall from canvass desoxyribonucleic acid samples that you paid the company to collect . With that gift , 23andMe hopes to prepare a second thing that you also get the privilege of paying for . And now , thanks to 23andMe ’s exciting novel subscription services , there ’s even a third opportunity to shell out your hard - earned cash .
The problem with 23andMe ’s consumer - face business is the company sells a merchandise you only need once in a lifetime . Worse , the entreaty of a DNA test for most people is the freshness of ancestry results , but if your brother already paid for a test , you already know the response .
23andMe knows that ’s an issuance , so it ’s spent year trying to brand itself as a healthcare service , and not just a $ 79 permit slip to tell people you ’re Irish . In fact , the company thinks you should buy yourself a recur one-year subscription to something called 23andMe+ Total Health . It only costs $ 1,188 a yr . Or , if you do n’t care that much about your wellness , you’re able to opt for the meretricious 23andMe+ Premium , which is just $ 298 upfront , plus a subscription that renew at $ 69 .
The secret is you just ca n’t learn a short ton about your health from genetic screenings , aside from test for specific diseases that doctors rarely rate unless you have a house history . What 23andMe is sell you is a hope : someday in the future tense , genetical psychometric test will be capable to say us more , and when 23andMe unlocks the secrets of the human genome , its wellness services will be valuable to you .
What do you get with these subscriptions ? It ’s kind of vague . Depending on the packet , they admit a armed service that “ help you see how genetics and lifestyle can touch your likelihood of arise certain shape , ” prove for rare genetic conditions , enhanced ancestry features , and more . Essentially , they ’ll run inherited test that you may not require . Then , they may or may not recommend that you babble to a doctor , because they ca n’t proffer you actual medical care .
You could also skip the middleman and get down with a normal conversation with your Doctor of the Church , who will prescribe genetic tests if you need them and bill your policy society — but that ’s a mass less fun than pay a technical school ship’s company 100 or yard of dollar bill .
And that might happen ! But it ’s only going to pass off if 23andMe has the cash to unlock enigma from your desoxyribonucleic acid , which is both a tenacious shot and an super expensive projection . Wojcicki told Wired she ’s “ optimistic , ” and she ’s saved the caller from the brink of death before , but it look like a steeper climb from here on out .
If 23andMe party last , the first gradation is get going to be wad that give more company access to look at your genetic science than ever before . But if 23andMe goes out of business , it ’ll get purchased or sell off for office , which mean other companies will get a looking at your data anyway .
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