NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Consumer genomics firm Navigenics has cut the price of its comprehensive genetic screening service by 60 percent, from $2,500 to $999, the firm announced on its blog, The Navigator.
A thousand dollars buys customers a year subscription to Navigenics' Health Compass testing services, which includes genetic risk data for 28 diseases and conditions; an hour-long session with a genetic counselor; and updates to risk scores as new gene associations and diseases are added to the service.
Navigenics launched Health Compass in 2007. The company conducts its genetic risk scans using Affymetrix arrays, and earlier this year it took over ownership of Affy's CLIA lab.
Also earlier this year, Navigenics launched a pared down version of its service, Annual Insight, that costs $499 and provides individuals with information about their genetic predisposition for 10 common health conditions, including breast, colon, and prostate cancer, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, type 2 diabetes, glaucoma, heart attack, macular degeneration, and osteoarthritis. The company markets this version of its service to doctors, aiming to drive the integration of genomic information into people's yearly medical checkups.
Navigenics is not the only the firm to drop the price of its DTC genomics service offering. Last year, one of its competitors, 23andMe, lowered the cost of its service from $999 to $399, citing technological advancements in the Illumina platform.
Further competitive pressure has come from the launch this week of Pathway Genomics, a San Diego-based DTC genetic testing firm that is offering genotyping and analysis for disease risk and heredity for under $250.
A more detailed version of this article is available on GenomeWeb Daily News sister publication Pharmacogenomics Reporter.