Direct-to-consumer genetic testing company 23andMe is looking into offering a premium sequencing-based service, CNBC reports.
Currently, the firm offers genotyping-based genetic testing through its ancestry and health kits, which start at $99. It has previously explored offering sequencing, but CNBC notes that 23andMe got rid of the team that was working on it in 2016. "We spent a lot of time pursuing sequencing, and I think as we started to understand it better and better and understand the complexities, we decided to focus on our core business," 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki told BuzzFeed News at the time.
But now, CNBC says 23andMe has been sending some users notifications about a $749 premium service, however it says the link to the page on the service doesn't appear to work. A company spokesperson tells it, though, that the firm is gauging interest in a sequencing service, though has no rollout plans.
Such a service, CNBC adds, would place 23andMe in more direct competition with companies like Veritas, which offers customers genome sequencing for about $1,000.