OTC Genetic Testing Kit

Startup to sell over-the-counter genetic testing kit at drugstores.
The New York Times (5/11, B2, Pollack) reports that genetic tests, which "look at specific variations in a person's DNA to derive information about their risk of getting diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and various forms of cancer," are "heading to the corner drug store." Typically, the tests have "been sold directly to consumers through the Internet or through doctors' offices." Now, startup Pathway Genomics "will sell such a test through most of the nation's 7,500 Walgreens stores."
In fact, "starting May 14, Walgreen Co. will become the first US retailer to sell test kits, for $30, that promise customers" genetic-risk information, as well as clues about their chances of "passing conditions to their unborn children," Bloomberg News (5/11, Waters) reports. "Buyers get vials in which they can send their saliva to Pathway Genomics...then pay another $79 to $249 to get a detailed report assessing their genes." Notably, the "the Pathway product will be stocked on store shelves near drug-testing kits and other diagnostic tools, said Jim Cohn, a Walgreen spokesman." Although the move may "give gene tests a higher public profile that will entice more customers to try them" out, "retail marketing may also draw scrutiny."
Specifically, the marketing strategy concerns those "who worry it will open a Pandora's box of confusion, privacy violations, genetic discrimination and other issues," the Washington Post (5/11, A1, Stein) reports on its front page. What's more, the "new test comes as federal regulators, bioethicists, geneticists, doctors and patients have been increasingly struggling with how to use, interpret, regulate, and guard against abuse from the flood of genetic information, tests and technologies being developed because of the massive, government-sponsored Human Genome Project." Already, the "Food and Drug Administration questioned Monday whether the test will be sold legally because it does not have the agency's approval."