Another Pathway Opens Up for DTC Consumers
In July, Pathway Genomics announced that it would become the latest entrant in the direct-to-consumer (DTC) consumer genomics space. Only now, however, has Pathway begun to return results to its customers, and Kevin Davies of Bio-IT World has a first look at the results.
Of note is Pathway’s decision not to report relative or lifetime risk as numeric values―a decision prompted, perhaps, by the recent commentary of Venter et al. in the journal Nature, which highlighted substantial differences between disease risk predictions offered by 23andMe and Navigenics. Also a bit of a surprise is the disclosure that, at least for the moment, Pathway’s customers will not be receiving access to their raw genetic information (although the company assures Davies that it is coming).
There have certainly been some changes in the DTC marketplace since Pathway announced it was joining the fray five months ago. One of Pathway’s direct competitors, deCODE genetics, filed for bankruptcy and another, 23andMe, announced several changes to the structure, pricing and features of its own DTC service. As the field of consumer genomics enters its third year, there are no obvious signs that the pace of scientific and commercial change is likely to be any slower in the coming five months than over the previous five.
