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23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

blog.23andme.com

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Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#111

Post by mikeash »

ef4 wrote: post #86
im3w1l wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this isnt a good solution. Imagine the following scenario. A disease hits with p=0.001. To cure it is Very Expensive. Everyone gets insurance that covers it. Now imagine we have a test, that can predict it with certainty. Very soon only those with positive results will want insurance. The insurance against it will become unprofitable and discontinued.

> Now imagine we have a test, that can predict it with certainty. Very soon only those with positive results will want insurance. The insurance against it will become unprofitable and discontinued. That does leave a time when the risk is still insurable: before the test is conducted. One can imagine it evolving as an additional service that the testing provider may partner with insurance companies to provide. At the…

You'd have to prove that you didn't already have the test performed, which sounds tough. For example, maybe you flew to Elbonia to get an illicit test done in some dark alley, then came back to the US and retook the test while buying the insurance.

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#112

Post by carbocation »

maratd wrote: post #36
sami36 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes , but wouldn't Nbr 2 in itself be worth a lot if the patient would make lifestyle changes in response to increased risks highlighted in their genetic profile. Suppose you have a genetic proclivity for alcoholism, wouldn't most people watch their consumption a lot more if provided with that information.

Let's go with your example. Let's say you have a 50% increased risk of alcoholism than the average population. What does that mean? If the probability of alcoholism is the general population is 1% ... well, that means yours is 1.5% ... or still ridiculously small. Obviously those are just numbers I'm using to illustrate a point, but you see where I'm going with this.

While I agree with your general point, the lifetime prevalence of alcohol dependence is rather high; it is estimated to be 12.5% [1].

1 = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17606817

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#113

Post by mamoswined »

maratd wrote: post #15
sami36 wrote: post #6

If their results are accurate to a degree, why are their tests not being subsidized by insurance companies. How much would an insurance co save by alerting a patient to her chances of getting diabetes, not to mention the money the patient would itself save.

There are really 3 sets of results they provide. 1. Genetic disorder. Tay–Sachs, etc. This stuff is priceless, because in the past, you had to pay thousands of dollars to get these same tests tone. These are accurate and very worthwhile ... but the majority of people will come back with all negative results, which is actually a good thing. 2. Your "increased risk" to certain diseases, like heart disease, etc. IMHO, t…

For #1 if you have any Ashkenazi Jewish blood or suspect you do, it's really worth it for peace of mind. A lot of people say they don't get interesting results, but as someone who is 25% Ashkenazi I was pretty happy at the lack of "interesting" findings- to find I carry only a minor form of hemophilia among the Ashkenazi-related genetic disorders 23andme tracks.

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#115

Post by mikeash »

khomenko wrote: post #48
martincmartin wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gender is determined genetically, and men and woman have different life expectancies. Does this mean you can't charge men and women different rates (all else being equal)?

You can. Insurance spreads risk across population pools. You have to carve out those pools somehow, so you use broad variables like age and gender. The problem is genetic information has potential to make the pools too small.

You don't have to carve out those pools at all. Insurance is workable if everyone is lumped into a single huge pool. The trouble is that a company which is able to break their clientele into smaller pools will outcompete those who aren't, so you get a bit of a race to the bottom.

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#116

Post by aggie »

rsuttongee wrote: post #72

I think one of the most compelling stories as to why 23andme (and other genotyping services) is amazing is Sergey Brin's: http://too.blogspot.com/2008/09/lrrk2.html Because of 23andme he found out early that he has a high chance of getting parkinson's disease. He now has the chance to prevent (or at least prepare for) it.

Convincing a lot of very wealthy people (and their families) to get genetic testing could see significant funding directed toward disease prevention and treatment research.

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#117

Post by jacquesm »

mhb wrote: post #11
Rickasaurus wrote: post #4

I paid in at their first $99 discounted rate (2010) and was very disappointed when they tried to demand a non-discounted new sample for newer tests about a year later. If I had paid the full $500 I would have been downright peeved. Still, I'm glad I did it, 23andMe is a very enlightening experience. I even found some distant relatives I never knew about.

Just think how much worse Craig Venter must feel.

Or his dog for that matter.

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#118

Post by jacquesm »

agotterer wrote: post #71
r3demon wrote: post #18

Will they give my genotype information to FBI or CIA? Will they pay damages if information gets stolen? This is not some passwords or account numbers, this is data about real world which can't be changed.

It's sort of sudo anonymized. I purchased my test in 2010. The account is tied to my email address for login. I ordered the test under just my first name to my office at the time. I also purchased a test for a friend. Other then an email address, that test isn't tied to him in any other way. So while its not impossible to tie back to someone, it's not a perfect 1:1 relationship.

That's your DNA, by definition it is not anonymized, it defines you about as good as possible. You could infer all kinds of stuff about you from your DNA. 33 bits... male, brown eyes, family member in the 3rd degree of 'x', family member to the 4 th degree of 'y' and so on.

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#119

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

hop wrote: post #80

In other news, 23andMe introduced relative finder not long ago. I hadn't logged on in over 2 years after I did it with a groupon promo, but I had a public profile with my name and city. A half-sister i didn't know i had found me with matching DNA, owns a business 5 blocks away and walked over to meet me (what's the probability of that!?). Found my dad was not my biological dad and i was from the same sperm donor as m…

>23andMe introduced relative finder not long ago. I hadn't logged on in over 2 years after I did it with a groupon promo, but I had a public profile with my name and city.

That's scary. Did you explicitly consent to that? It sounds like you didn't...

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