Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Genes, patents, and big business: at 23andMe, are you the customer or the product?

23andme kit

It’s been six years since DNA testing service 23andMe launched. In that time, about 180,000 people around the world have sent their saliva to the Mountain View-based company to test for more than 200 genetic traits and markers.


That’s not an inconsequential number, but it shows that personal DNA testing just isn’t a very large market yet. As a result, 23andMe has decisively shifted its focus to building and monetizing a giant database of genetic information, rather than satisfying personal curiosity. We’re entering the era of personal genetics as big business.


The company announced yesterday that it has raised $50 million from name-brand investors including Google Ventures and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner to do just that....


Continue reading…






via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/12/3759198/23andme-genetics-testing-50-million-data-mining

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