Google-Backed DNA Testing 23andMe Company Will Stop Providing Data to Clients

Genetic testing company 23andMe announced Thursday it will still allow consumers to access ancestry-related information and raw genetic data, but will not provide customers with any health information while the company is under review by the Food and Drug Administration regulatory review.  

According to a statement released by the company, they plan to continue offering clients their educational projects and research using genetic and phenotypic data in their database.

"We remain firmly committed to fulfilling our long-term mission to help people everywhere have access to their own genetic data and have the ability to use that information to improve their lives," Anne Wojcicki, the chief executive of 23andMe, said in a statement Thursday evening.

"Our goal is to work cooperatively with the F.D.A. to provide that opportunity in a way that clearly demonstrates the benefit to people and the validity of the science that underlies the test."

The company is Google-backed and sells a $99 genetics test which assesses clients risk of more than 240 health conditions. The DNA is then sent to laboratories who then test the sample and provide clients with detailed information based on the DNA analysis. This included ancestral origins, what traits the person was likely to have and what diseases they were more prone to developing.

An article in Scientific American has also raised concerns  that people who submitted their samples to 23andMe sign away their rights to their personal genetic data, allowing the company to share information about consumers' genomes to other companies. This could potentially lead to more targeted consumer medicine, especially from insurance and pharmaceutical companies that would know a person's "weaknesses."