[ExI] FDA Tells Google-Backed 23andMe to Halt DNA Test Service

Adrian Tymes atymes at gmail.com
Wed Nov 27 18:59:41 UTC 2013


On Wed, Nov 27, 2013 at 7:14 AM, Mike Dougherty <msd001 at gmail.com> wrote:

> So you can "ask your doctor" about drugs for your scaly, red, itching skin
> that has a side effect of "death" or some heartburn meds that give you low
> magnesium levels and risk of bone fractures - but you can't swab some spit
> into a cup because the resulting test(s) has the effect of education about
> information you might not be prepared to learn?
>

No.  Because the information stands an unacceptable (to the FDA) risk of
being flat-out wrong.

It's one thing if it advises someone of a condition they didn't know they
had, for which there is a risky treatment option but less risky than doing
nothing.

It's another thing entirely if this advice is incorrect, and the person
never had that condition in the first place.  This is one of the things the
FDA exists to prevent, and what it says is going on in this case.
(Specifically that there are high enough odds that it's happening to a
significant number of 23andMe's customers.)

Rake the FDA over the coals for what it actually does do badly (and doesn't
do that it should), but let's confine the accusations to what's actually
going on, please.  There's more than enough without exaggerating or making
stuff up.

(It's possible that you might have simply misread, but it seems at least
some people seem to be willfully misinterpreting what's going on here.)
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