In the comments to my last post, David Hamilton from VentureBeat points to an article he wrote in November last year about 23andMe's likely business plan (put simply: selling aggregated genetic and trait data to big pharma). I agree that this is certainly likely to be the major source of cash-flow that the company is relying on. However, I'm somewhat sceptical that big pharma will be willing to pay huge amounts for a data-set based purely on self-reported traits (i.e. the current customer data-set).
Of course, there is another possibility that just occurred to me: could 23andMe be using those saliva samples (see kit to left) to test for saliva biomarkers, in addition to extracting DNA? Maybe that explains why 23andMe collects 2 mL of saliva, whereas deCODEme does the same job with a simple cheek swab?To explain a little more clearly: "biomarker" is a generic term for molecules (which could be proteins, sugars, or small chemical such as drugs) contained in a tissue sample that can be used to provide information about a human donor's health status. Saliva contains many potentially informative biomarkers, some of which have previously been used to test for the presence of the autoimmune disease Sjögren's syndrome, periodontal disease (i.e. gum infections), and even breast cancer. The technology is still new, but presumably saliva samples could be stored safely for long periods of time and then retested when new biomarkers are discovered and validated. Such an analysis would give 23andMe direct, potentially clinically relevant information that may be much more reliable than self-reported data, and thus more useful to pharmaceutical and biotech corporations.
The big question is: would useful saliva biomarkers be stable enough to survive transport from users' homes to 23andMe, especially given the high bacterial load present in saliva? The producer of the kits used by 23andMe doesn't provide much information relevant to this question (except to say that the kit results in "lower bacterial content"), and I don't know anywhere near enough about this field to even hazard an informed guess. Perhaps someone who knows more than me about saliva proteins can let me know how unlikely this is?
Added in edit: Nope. In the 23andMe consent form it says:
The laboratory processing your saliva sample will analyze your DNA to determine your genetic information. The laboratory will not analyze your saliva for any biological or chemical components, markers or agents other than your DNA.Damn. Now the interesting question is: why aren't they doing it?
2 comments:
Alas -- another promising speculation bites the dust. I assume they're not doing this because to get informed consent they'd have to note explicitly what they're testing for and what they'd do with it, and that might scare people off of subscribing to the service in the first place.
I agree that self-reported phenotypes may ultimately be of limited usefulness. Perhaps 23andMe will eventually try to convince its customers to take their questionnaires to the doctor, but I can't see that happening any time soon.
I'd would be happy to help. Doing it the right way.
-Steve
www.helixhealth.org
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