Although web sites marketing genomic testing have received extensive media attention, they have not been very financially successful (see: Web-Based Genomic Testing Sites Fail to Attract Large Paying Audience). Retail pharmacy chains have attempted to extend their footprint in the healthcare sector with walk-in clinics with only limited success. Walgreens is now trying to sell genomic test kits in collaboration with a clinical lab start-up, Pathway Genomics (see: Start-Up May Sell Genetic Tests in Stores). Below is an excerpt from the article discussing this product launch:
Genetic tests that assess a person’s risk of getting various diseases are heading to the corner drug store. Pathway Genomics...is expected to announce,,,that it will sell such a test through most of the nation’s 7,500 Walgreens stores....Such tests have until now been sold directly to consumers through the Internet or through doctors’ offices. By capitalizing on the foot traffic in drug stores, Pathway hopes to gain an edge on rivals 23andMe and Navigenics, which are older and better known....The tests, which generally cost $300 or more, have also stirred controversy. Some genetics experts say the tests cannot provide accurate or significant information because not enough is known yet about the genetic causes of disease. Some critics say doctors should be involved in interpreting the tests. New York State considers these medical tests, not consumer information, and requires a license....What Walgreens will be selling, for a price expected to be $20 to $30, is Pathway’s saliva collection kit, packaged in a box that says “Discover Your DNA.” But the testing of the saliva will cost extra — from $79 to as much as $249, depending on how full a set of tests the consumer orders. Consumers would send their saliva sample, which contains their DNA, to the company’s lab. But they would still have to go to Pathway’s Web site to order the specific test they want and pay an additional fee. They would also receive the results via the Web. Even at $249 for the full test, in addition to the $20 to $30 for the kit, Pathway’s test through Walgreens will be cheaper than the $399 the company charges if the same test is ordered completely online, in which case Pathway sends the consumer a saliva kit that must be mailed back.
The two most aggressive states from a clinical lab regulatory perspective are California and New York. Some consumer-oriented genomic testing web sites have attempted to classify their reports as consumer information rather than lab test results in order to sidestep state regulatory processes. As noted above and in relationship to the Pathway product, New York state officials aren't buying this distinction. Hence, it can't be sold in that state.
At first glance, the role of Walgreens in the genomic testing transaction offered by Pathway seems relatively minor. The consumer buys the specimen (i.e., saliva) collection kit in a retail setting but must then must log-on to the company web site to place the order for the desired tests from the company. Test results are subsequently also accessed by the customer on-line. According to the article, a price discount is offered to customers on the genomic testing by using the Walgreens saliva collection kit as opposed to one provided via a web order.
It seems to me that there are three significant problems associated with consumer-oriented genomic testing at the present time: (1) test results are often non-specific and therefore not actionable by the consumers themselves or their physicians; (2) too a high price-point for the testing in relationship to the value of the results; and (3) the end-to-end process is complex and too daunting for most healthcare consumers. Walgreens, with its 7.500 stores, was apparently able to negotiate a lower price from Pathway in anticipation of generating an increase in business for the company. Unfortunately, I don't think that the Pathway/Walgreens joint product addresses in any real way these problems and will probably not gain wide acceptance.
::Update on 5/12/2010 at 8:50 p.m. EST
See: FDA challenges Pathway on its retail gene test
::Update on 5/13/2010 at 8:23 a.m. EST
See: Walgreens won't sell over-the-counter genetic test after FDA raises questions
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