Interest in direct-to-consumer genetic testing is making a comeback.
A year ago, sales of DNA testing kits were down. 23andMe and Ancestry had to cut jobs because of the pandemic, and then Ancestry abandoned its testing kit business altogether.
Now things are looking up. This month 23andMe, which went public in June via a Richard Branson-founded SPAC, reported a 23% Q3 revenue increase from the previous year. Founder Anne Wojcicki had told Bloomberg a month prior, “It’s kind of an ideal time for us.”
The company has been moving to leverage more of its DNA data following an explosion in telehealth growth and renewed interest in genomics because of the coronavirus. It’s now building itself as a therapeutics company, has licensed its first drug, and has used its data to study how genomics contributes to how individuals react to Covid.
A startup in this space is leveling up too. Genomelink, founded in 2017, has just launched its 2.0 iteration today on Product Hunt following its S21 Y Combinator stint.
Genomelink allows users to re-use the data they’ve received from companies like 23andMe and Ancestry to “unlock hundreds of apps” that go deeper into what your DNA can reveal. The Japan-based founders have combined experience working in bio-info, medical platforms, and genetic testing.
Co-founder Tomohiro Takano explained that he was motivated to start Genomelink when he saw that cancer families were paying almost $2k for testing never-to-be-used again.
“We believe in the future, billions of people will have access to their DNA data. When that happens, imagine: [the place] where you will store DNA data and how you [will] connect data [to an] app ecosystem. That will be Genomelink in a nutshell,” he wrote.
The founders are looking for feedback from the Product Hunt community and have offered paid features in exchange for your thoughts. Get in on it by clicking through below.
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