|
| VIEW EVENT INFORMATION: 23andMe |
|
 |
No Longer On Next-gen Sequencing |
|
|
|
|
|
|
About the organization 23andMe:
Type: Business
Sub-Types: Health Care, Health-Technology, Blood Test, Medical Laboratory, Medical Service, Medical Test, Medical-Technology, Biotechnology, DNA Test, Genomics, Genetic Testing, Website |
|
Notable Organizations: 23andMe, Techcrunch
|
|
| 23andMe won’t continue with next-generation DNA sequencing and has reportedly laid off the lab working on the project.
About half-a-dozen workers were laid off from the Salt Lake City, Utah-based lab, according to BuzzFeed, which first reported the news. By our own count based on LinkedIn, at least five members of the lab have been let go, including its chief medical officer, Dr. Jill Hagenkord, who was hired to head the project in 2014.
The company will continue selling its core product, a $199 kit testing for genetic markers having to do with health and ancestry, and founder Anne Wojcicki told TechCrunch in September it would be making a bigger effort to gather more and better genetic information from more diverse populations around the world.
But a more modern type of sequencing technology, commonly referred to as next-gen sequencing, won’t be a focus for now.
Next-gen sequencing is a sort of catch-all term for a number of methods offering a more detailed overview of your genetic code. The new technology has dramatically dropped in price in the last few years and gives researchers a closer look at potential diseases. Companies like Helix, Color Genomics and Genos have started to crop up, as a result, offering this more comprehensive approach to discovering what makes you, “you,” as well as any genetic issues you may need to know about.
23andMe began looking at the technology in 2012, starting with a pilot study on exome sequencing. The company noted the success of the study at the time and said it would, “prepare for the day when full-genome sequencing will be an affordable possibility for everyone.” |
|
|
| Leave Comments: |
|
|
|
|
|
