Report focusing on health-related decision-making applications of DTC genetic tests in the U.S.

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Reportlinker Adds Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing: Business Prospects in the United States

The current marketplace for direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing is very dynamic and fluid. At least 42 DTC genetic testing companies have been identified to date, and additional market entrants are likely. Firms marketing and selling genetic tests DTC have numerous factors to consider. This report focuses on health-related decision-making applications of DTC genetic tests and examines various components of this emerging business environment:

The rapidly evolving science and technology The complex framework of regulatory oversight Social and ethical issues, including genetic privacy Consumers' attitudes toward genetic testing Activities of companies shaping this sector Views of industry leaders through exclusive interviews Genetic testing has come a long way since development of the first genetic test in 1963. According to the National Institutes of Health, almost 1,500 genetic tests are now in use. Under the traditional business model, tests are performed with a physician's involvement, from ordering the test to communication of its results. But with the confluence of the Internet and completion of the Human Genome Project, the procurement of genetic tests is migrating from health professional-controlled domains to cyberspace, where these tests are available to anyone. Marketing and selling genetic tests directly to consumers not only adds a new business model that can exclude the consumer's physician but raises scientific, regulatory, and even ethical issues.