Personal genetics startup 23andMe will soon begin using its aggregated data to develop medications.
23andMe offers genetic testing and sold genetic data to pharmaceutical companies and now intends to start the process of drug discovery. The company, backed by Google and based in Mountain View, Calif., has hired Richard Scheller, who led drug discovery at Genentech for 14 years, according to Forbes.
The company has sold 800,000 genetic tests to date. The announcement is a shift in tactics for the previously direct-to-consumer company, opting instead to branch into the traditional pharmaceutical industry. 23andMe faced opposition from the Food and Drug Administration in 2013, which ruled that it could not give patients health information after they completed genetic tests because it was not a healthcare provider. However, the genetic databases it has accumulated could be valuable to drug developers such as Genentech and Pfizer, according to the report.
The announcement comes shortly after Apple's revelation that it would make iPhone app data available to researchers, incorporating the direct-to-consumer technology into the recognized medical industry. Technology companies are beginning to leverage both sides of the medical industry through consumer access and communication with researchers, according to the report.