Pfizer and 23andMe Collaborate to Study Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Lab industry observers have long suggested that that the 23andMe business model ultimately involved selling anonymized client genomic data to the deep-pockets pharmaceutical industry (see: 23andMe as an Example of "Big Bang" Market Disruption; 23andMe Builds Online Sarcoma Research Community). This model required abundant capital up-front to attract clients with a relatively low lab testing cost. At some point, it's even possible for these costs to drop to zero but this might arouse suspicion and reveal more about the business model than was necessary. At any rate, a recent article discussed a new relationship between Pfizer and 23andMe to study the genetics of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (see: Pfizer, 23andMe Team up to Study Bowel Disease). Below is an excerpt from the article: Pfizer is teaming up with DNA testing company 23andMe to study the possible genetic underpinnings of inflammatory bowel disease, a hard-to-treat ailment that affects an estimated 1.4 million Americans. Under the agreement, Silicon Valley-based 23andMe will map the DNA of 10,000 patients who have forms of the disease, which include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Patients will submit saliva samples using 23andMe's at-home collection kit and then fill out online questionnaires about their disease and symptoms. The companies hope to identify genetic similarities among patients with the disease, which could eventually guide development of new targeted ...
Source: Lab Soft News - Category: Pathologists Authors: Tags: Clinical Lab Industry News Clinical Lab Testing Healthcare Delivery Lab Information Products Lab Regulation Laboratory Industry Trends Medical Consumerism Medical Research Pharmaceutical Industry Public Health Informatics Source Type: blogs