Not All Bad Science Comes From The Right
According to the Associated Press the Food and Drug Administration is ordering 23andMe to halt sales of its personalized DNA test kits because the company has “failed to show that the technology is backed by science.”
This is nonsense and a blow at the public’s heath as well. The FDA’s problem is that it is a violation of U.S. law to claim that a “product” identifies health risks if that “product” has not been cleared by the FDA.
The 23 and Me “product” is full analysis of your genome, a way of seeing who you are descended from and who you are related to. Obviously this includes real information about the risks different groups of people have … information that is only different from “My Aunt Lizzie died of diabetes, so so …” in that 23 and Me’s reports are based on actual data on how you and your relatives share risk.
The information you get from 23 and Me does not urge you to buy some pill or have an organ removed to avoid cancer. It does tell you that you should see a doctor if there is a known risk, Moreover, unlike the products the FDA does license, the genomic data from 23 and Me is for your entire genome. That is a bargain at the current rate of $100!
There is worse to come. As 23 and Me collects DNA, it will have the potential to look in more detail at your genome and at a lot of other people’s genomes. The potential public health benefit is huge.
I think the FD is either getting of on “medical marijuana” or drinkling the Tea left over from some Tea Party Clavern.
Readmore at 23andMe blog