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Iceland's genetics juggernaut deCODE Genetics has announced a new personalized genomics service today, termed deCODEme. The service at first read appears to be quite similar to those proposed by the other players (Navigenics, 23andme, etc), however there is one small difference. They are taking orders today!
I've registered an account and browsed around the site and it's quite impressive compared to the teaser websites offered by the other players. The service is a comprehensive genomic SNP genotyping panel, containing over 1 million SNPs, and costing a surprisingly low $985. However they only accept payment via paypal at this point, which seems to be a hint at how hastily the website was put together. As an aside, a colleague and I had expressed in purchasing the decodeme.com domain name from it's owner less than 2-3 months ago and they were eager to sell for ~$500. Then contact with him abruptly ended, undoubtedly when deCODE contacted him.
An excerpt from their test description is below.
There is a slightly more informative news blurb over at genomeweb.
UPDATED: As I went to purchase my own genomic scan, an interesting check box appeared:
"I am not a citizen of any of the following states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Wyoming." followed by the explanation:
"As a resident of any of the above states, you will not be allowed to use the deCODEme.com genetic risk calculations part of this website, as mentioned in the Genetic Scan customer agreement."
Seems like not only have they launched their test, deCODE has done their homework on the legal aspects of offering a genetic screen to consumers in the US. Nanny state strikes again. The above disclaimer almost makes the test worthless for residents of those states.
I've registered an account and browsed around the site and it's quite impressive compared to the teaser websites offered by the other players. The service is a comprehensive genomic SNP genotyping panel, containing over 1 million SNPs, and costing a surprisingly low $985. However they only accept payment via paypal at this point, which seems to be a hint at how hastily the website was put together. As an aside, a colleague and I had expressed in purchasing the decodeme.com domain name from it's owner less than 2-3 months ago and they were eager to sell for ~$500. Then contact with him abruptly ended, undoubtedly when deCODE contacted him.
An excerpt from their test description is below.
You are about to purchase a Genetic Scan of your entire genome, consisting of over one million variations, that will give you unique insight into yourself; who you are and where you came from. The deCODEme website will provide you with tools that allow you to analyze your data for various purposes and in a sense allow you to look into your past, present and future
UPDATED: As I went to purchase my own genomic scan, an interesting check box appeared:
"I am not a citizen of any of the following states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Wyoming." followed by the explanation:
"As a resident of any of the above states, you will not be allowed to use the deCODEme.com genetic risk calculations part of this website, as mentioned in the Genetic Scan customer agreement."
Seems like not only have they launched their test, deCODE has done their homework on the legal aspects of offering a genetic screen to consumers in the US. Nanny state strikes again. The above disclaimer almost makes the test worthless for residents of those states.