Layoffs Confirmed At 23andMe

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/29/layoffs-confirmed-at-23andme/

by rms • 17 years ago

17 12 17 years ago

eventhough• 17 years ago

I've always wondered what good it would do me to know that I have a certain percentage chance of getting Alzheimer or Parkinson disease. In some situations I could understand the use (certain highly predictable cancers), but in most cases I don't see the point.

I already live a healthy lifestyle. I eat right. I don't smoke. I exercise 2-3 times a week. I don't think I could try much harder.

To me it's kind of like trying to figure out when I'm going to die. Why do I want to know this? Just let me live my life.

These are some reasons why I don't think people buy these kinds of tests. That and the fact that it costs $500!

hnhg• 17 years ago

A former colleague of mine was working on an EU project to gauge what outcomes this technology would have. The Medical Associations were and are objecting to it being rushed into the public domain without regulation. The Doctors themselves don't have the knowledge to interpret what those results might mean for you in the long-term and the scope for over-diagnosis is huge. And a market for quacks in this field is also sadly inevitable.

From what I hear this is also turning out to be the opinion from US health professionals. Though I guess the health insurance companies would love this technology...

ghshephard• 17 years ago

Two weeks old. Not News.

rms• 17 years ago

It was to me.

jacquesm4• 17 years ago

23andme is a concept that needs a lot more groundwork before dumping all that information on the public.

For one it should be accompanied by a basic course in genetics and another in probability theory.

GPs are amongst the most overworked people in any profession and they really don't need to have a crowd of ill-informed consumers pestering them with their newfound diseases.

Personal genetic screening is potentially a good thing but the implementation of it currently leaves a lot to be desired.

This is not a consumer product.

bbgm2• 17 years ago

Conversely one could argue that having access to your SNP data, accompanied by some good learning material and software (and 23andme do a pretty good job here) is the best way for people to get a better understanding of this kind of data.

You have to start somewhere and the underlying technology is now mature enough that having a commercial company (or companies in this case) take a lead in writing material and software targeted at the consumer is a good thing.

jacquesm4• 17 years ago

Maybe. All I see is that people that are worried about some heritable disease are out $400.

I spent the better part of a year to brush up on genetics (because my former gf worked in a university lab doing a project for her PhD) and this stuff is not something you explain in a leaflet or booklet.

That may be just enough to get them to interpret the data.

Also note that their 'genetics 101' simplifies things to the point that it should qualify as entertainment.

To really interpret this data and to get some idea of what the (potential) impact on your life is you need a lot of background and possibly a multi-hour sit-down with an expert in the field.

And that's all still before looking at things like should a commercial entity have access to your genetic information ?

Note that their privacy policy explicitly permits them to make available to third parties your genetic data, but 'without your name or any other account information'.

Those people should know better, after all what is more identifying than your genome...

And what if they get bought out by some third party that decides to play fast and loose with this information.

FreeRadical• 17 years ago

I think this is a company that is only being propped up by the capital injected to be honest.

jacquesm4• 17 years ago

It is essentially the hobby project of the spouse of a very wealthy individual, but that doesn't mean it couldn't take off.

The lay-offs are a sign that not all is well though, when their #2 took off a couple of months ago that was a clear indication that things were not going in the right direction.

What puzzled me at the time was why they were doing their best to spin it rather than to just be up-front about the reasons. If 23andme was a an all-out success you can bet that their first-in staff would not be leaving.

wavesplash• 17 years ago

Two week old article. Why is it getting published now?

Just to add some content: 23andme never did complete genomes, they only targeted specific markers. As a consumer product there really wasn't anything compelling, and it was too expensive.

They've now changed their business strategy from consumer to B2B and let go most of the consumer folks.

jacquesm4• 17 years ago

> Why is it getting published now?

Because posting techcrunch articles is guaranteed karma ;)

> They've now changed their business strategy from consumer to B2B and let go most of the consumer folks.

So much for the 'me' part then.

Even if they didn't do 'whole genome' there might be a freezer there with the samples that they took in, so in the long run when whole genome analysis becomes cheap enough they might do a 'replay'.

They reserve the right to share your genetic data but at the same time they say they will not share your 'personal information' without your consent.

That's the weirdest thing I've ever seen in a privacy statement, for one it is contradictory (genetic data being rather personal), and on top of that it gets the priorities completely wrong.

The only good privacy policy for a company like this would be 'We guarantee that we destroy all information you have supplied us with after we send you your results, this includes any samples and personal data'.

Anything less simply won't do.

Layoffs Confirmed At 23andMe

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