California cracks down on genetic testing companies

California has sent cease-and-desist letters to 13 direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies, "ordering them to immediately stop offering genetic tests to state residents". The companies haven't been named yet, although Navigenics has admitted to being among them, and is arguing that they are doing nothing wrong. Steve Murphy of Helix Health, who has been calling for tighter regulation of these companies for months, is predictably triumphal.

Naturally, this is just the beginning - to a large extent what's going on here is a turf war between proponents of the old-school medical regulation model and upstart advocates of the free information paradigm of the Google generation. Expect to see more regulatory punches thrown over the next few months, to Steve's continued delight.


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