CGS-authored
The California Department of Public Health is investigating consumer complaints against at least six online companies that conduct direct-to-consumer genetic testing, a hot new field that has garnered much attention and generated a competitive business environment in recent months.
The complaints center on the price and accuracy of the results, and whether a licensed physician ordered the tests, said Lea Brooks, spokeswoman for the department.
California law requires companies that conduct genetic testing to have those tests ordered by a licensed physician and to use laboratories that are both licensed by the state and have federal certification, Brooks said.
Department officials declined to identify the companies, citing the current investigation. Some of the companies have been informed of the investigation, Brooks said.
A new breed of companies has cropped up to offer consumers genomic services from paternity and baby gender tests to screenings for serious diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
In addition to the California investigation, New York State's Department of Health is reportedly investigating the business practices of several high-profile online gene-testing companies, including 23andMe of Mountain...