23andMe and GlaxoSmithKline's drug-hunting partnership is starting to bear fruit, but raises questions about using paying-customers' genetic data
By Denise Roland July 22, 2019 Genetic test-kit company 23andMe Inc. has for years used saliva to tell millions of consumers how closely related they are to Neanderthals or whether they are likely to develop diseases like diabetes or Alzheimer’s. Now, it’s fulfilling a bigger ambition: drug development.
That information is especially valuable to drugmakers because the majority of 23andMe’s customers also choose to answer questionnaires on their health. Analyzing millions of people’s genetics alongside data on their overall health provides clues on the interplay between genetics and particular ailments, creating potentially fruitful avenues for drug discovery.
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One of Glaxo and 23andMe’s targets is a rare mutation in a gene called LRRK2 that raises the risk of developing Parkinson’s. Around one in a thousand people are carriers, which would make them very difficult to find using traditional trial-recruitment tactics. 23andMe has contact details for 7,500 carriers it can invite to participate.23andMe asks customers to consent to their genetic information being used for research purposes, and the firm says 80% say yes.
A 23andMe spokesman said its customers are making an informed choice to allow their genetic information to be used in research. The company says it only shares high-level summaries of its data with Glaxo, but the partnership highlights a broader privacy concern: that 23andMe’s customers may not have realized their data would be used by the pharmaceutical industry.
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