FDA Authorizes Sale of First Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today authorized for marketing 23andMe’s Bloom Syndrome carrier test, a direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic test to determine whether a healthy person has a variant in a gene that could lead to their offspring inheriting the serious disorder.

Along with this authorization, the FDA is also classifying carrier screening tests as class II. In addition, the FDA intends to exempt these devices from FDA premarket review. The agency plans to issue a notice that announces the intent to exempt these tests and that provides a 30-day period for public comment. This action creates the least burdensome regulatory path for autosomal recessive carrier screening tests with similar uses to enter the market.

Read the FDA press release: http://1.usa.gov/185XnWe