It has just been announced that 23andMe has been granted permission by the FDA to sell genetic tests for disease risk directly to the public. This very interesting development touches upon the potential growth that the biotech industry can achieve in the future. Other companies will certainly follow suit and offer competing services, but this is potentially just the tip of the iceberg.
Here are the details:
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On the growth side it appears that 23andME is forging ahead with creating new markets for biotech services and products.
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Perhaps a parallel can be drawn between what we are seeing here and the explosive growth in the tech sector due to the advent of smart phones and their respective app stores.
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Direct-to-consumer genetic testing can lead to the creation of an entirely new marketplace, spurring demand for creative solutions and new biotech products.
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This new paradigm can also drastically shift the marketing practices of many pharmaceutical companies, as consumers will have a better understanding about what health issues they may face in the future and in turn will have more control over the solutions and products they may turn to.
There certainly appears to be a bright future ahead for us if the industry can balance the moral and legal issues that are touched upon in this article.
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Source:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/health/fda-genetic-tests-23andme.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=29&pgtype=sectionfront
