7 ms·

Man, why is it so expensive? To test my wife and I would be nearly $400. I mean sure, it might help me be able to pre-treat any known trait based disease but st

by esaym 11y ago

Man, why is it so expensive? To test my wife and I would be nearly $400. I mean sure, it might help me be able to pre-treat any known trait based disease but still.. If all they are doing is running some DNA through a database, seems like the cost should getting lower, not higher.

rcthompson 11y ago
They're also maintaining that database and adding to it over time as our understanding of genetically-linked diseases evolves.
- chanux 11y ago
  And making money off the (anonymized) data as well?
  - benchtobedside 11y ago
    That is correct - using it to develop their own therapeutic candidates in fact [1] [1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2015/03/12/23andme-enters-the-drug-business-just-as-apple-changes-it/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2015/03/12/23andme...
Kneedler 11y ago
I believe the $99 kits were sold as a loss leader to grow their database and establish themselves as a leader in the space. The actual cost to the company was/is much higher.
- mbreese 11y ago
  Selling kits isn't how they make their money. So, selling the tests at a loss shouldn't be surprising.
SwellJoe 11y ago
There's another way to look at it: Compared to medical regulated DNA tests, such as those for breast cancer risk or other types of risk factors, which can cost in the thousands per marker, 23andme is astonishingly cheap. While I could never bring myself to spend the $199, I was a very early adopter when it went on sale for DNA day (maybe the first DNA day sale), and the rest of my family bought the next time it went on sale for DNA day a year later. Now that medical results are back, I think it is worth either price, particularly if you have any concerns about genetic health issues being passed down to you. In my case, my father was schizophrenic (and a couple of other relatives on the same side of the family likely suffered from undiagnosed mental illness based on what I know of their behavior and the details of their violent deaths), so I was more than a little curious about whether I had any of the genetic hints that I might suffer the same fate. I don't, and knowing that I don't have the couple of markers known to 23andme was worth at least $99. A few years after we all signed up for 23andme, my father passed away of pancreatic cancer, which can also be a genetic condition, and so I was able to check for the risk factors that are known (though my father also lacked those markers, so it's either a marker that is unknown to 23andme, or he was not genetically predisposed to pancreatic cancer in his case). That was, again, worth at least $99, to me. I know in either case, the ability of 23andme to predict those diseases is low, and it shouldn't replace hands-on medical care and paying attention to warnings signs, but it does provide some predictive power. And, for a while they were doing original research (polling their customers and comparing data to produce reports), which was really cool and fun to see happening. I don't think they're still doing that, maybe because of the FDA ruling. When the medical stuff went away, I stopped recommending 23andme to friends and family, as it no longer held any interest for me. The family tree functionality is neat, I guess, but I'm not Mormon, and don't have a huge amount of interest in whether I'm related to somebody interesting 200 years ago (I'm probably not; I come from very poor white trash stock). In short, the fact that we're arguing over whether a genetic profile is expensive at $199 or at $99 is a laughable first world problem. I'd like it if more of the world could afford it, and my signing up early was part of my encouragement for that to happen; I want it to be possible for everyone to look at their genetic predispositions and such, and take some of their medical care into their own hands with more informed choices. So, I opted in early. I would have bought eventually at $199, if they hadn't ever offered the $99 deal. But, I too, would like to see it getting cheaper. It's been many years now, since I bought in at $99. At some point, they've gotta be thinking in terms of making it more accessible to more people. There are huge swaths of people for whom $199 is not chump change.
searine 11y ago
The database isn't expensive, the single-use SNP chips are.

by esaym 11y ago

rcthompson 11y ago

They're also maintaining that database and adding to it over time as our understanding of genetically-linked diseases evolves.

chanux 11y ago
And making money off the (anonymized) data as well?
- benchtobedside 11y ago
  That is correct - using it to develop their own therapeutic candidates in fact [1] [1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2015/03/12/23andme-enters-the-drug-business-just-as-apple-changes-it/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2015/03/12/23andme...

Kneedler 11y ago

I believe the $99 kits were sold as a loss leader to grow their database and establish themselves as a leader in the space. The actual cost to the company was/is much higher.

mbreese 11y ago
Selling kits isn't how they make their money. So, selling the tests at a loss shouldn't be surprising.

SwellJoe 11y ago

There's another way to look at it: Compared to medical regulated DNA tests, such as those for breast cancer risk or other types of risk factors, which can cost in the thousands per marker, 23andme is astonishingly cheap. While I could never bring myself to spend the $199, I was a very early adopter when it went on sale for DNA day (maybe the first DNA day sale), and the rest of my family bought the next time it went on sale for DNA day a year later. Now that medical results are back, I think it is worth either price, particularly if you have any concerns about genetic health issues being passed down to you. In my case, my father was schizophrenic (and a couple of other relatives on the same side of the family likely suffered from undiagnosed mental illness based on what I know of their behavior and the details of their violent deaths), so I was more than a little curious about whether I had any of the genetic hints that I might suffer the same fate. I don't, and knowing that I don't have the couple of markers known to 23andme was worth at least $99. A few years after we all signed up for 23andme, my father passed away of pancreatic cancer, which can also be a genetic condition, and so I was able to check for the risk factors that are known (though my father also lacked those markers, so it's either a marker that is unknown to 23andme, or he was not genetically predisposed to pancreatic cancer in his case). That was, again, worth at least $99, to me. I know in either case, the ability of 23andme to predict those diseases is low, and it shouldn't replace hands-on medical care and paying attention to warnings signs, but it does provide some predictive power. And, for a while they were doing original research (polling their customers and comparing data to produce reports), which was really cool and fun to see happening. I don't think they're still doing that, maybe because of the FDA ruling. When the medical stuff went away, I stopped recommending 23andme to friends and family, as it no longer held any interest for me. The family tree functionality is neat, I guess, but I'm not Mormon, and don't have a huge amount of interest in whether I'm related to somebody interesting 200 years ago (I'm probably not; I come from very poor white trash stock). In short, the fact that we're arguing over whether a genetic profile is expensive at $199 or at $99 is a laughable first world problem. I'd like it if more of the world could afford it, and my signing up early was part of my encouragement for that to happen; I want it to be possible for everyone to look at their genetic predispositions and such, and take some of their medical care into their own hands with more informed choices. So, I opted in early. I would have bought eventually at $199, if they hadn't ever offered the $99 deal. But, I too, would like to see it getting cheaper. It's been many years now, since I bought in at $99. At some point, they've gotta be thinking in terms of making it more accessible to more people. There are huge swaths of people for whom $199 is not chump change.

searine 11y ago

The database isn't expensive, the single-use SNP chips are.