On February 20, Berry Genetics announced that the core management team of Round Gene, a consumer-grade genetic testing company jointly invested by Berry Genetics and Hong Kong-based Prenetics, has completed its formation and is now ready to start work. It is understood that, in addition to Berry genes, the domestic gene company giant UWG has also been in this field layout, there are 23 magic square, jellyfish genes, a pulse of genes, and a number of other companies in the consumer-level genetic testing.

The information shows that similar genetic testing companies on the market are mixed, providing similar services to more than 3,000 companies, but the level of testing is mixed. In the opinion of Zhou Daixing, CEO of Berry Genetics, scientific and rigorous consumer-level genetic testing can provide important reference data for public health.

Not long ago, Bill and Melinda Gates released their 2019 annual open letter, "The Unexpected," which mentioned that by early 2019, more than 26 million consumers had added their DNA to the health databases of the four DNA business giants. But they worry that consumers' DNA, like posts on social media or location data, is governed by user agreements, and that once the data is handed over control over it is lost.

The level of testing is mixed

Currently, the genetic testing industry is divided into three main categories: one is applied to the medical market, such as UWG's Down's syndrome screening program; the second is judicial appraisal, such as paternity testing; and the third is consumer-level genetic testing. Under the background of consumer upgrading, the huge consumer genetic testing market has attracted many enterprises to layout.

The 2019-2023 China Genetic Testing Industry Investment Analysis and Prospect Forecast Report released by CIC Consultant points out that as of 2017, the cumulative number of people involved in consumer genetic testing in China reached 300,000 people. With the rapid development of China's economy and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, the consumption ability and health care awareness is getting stronger, and it is estimated that the annual genetic testing volume in China is at least 3 million people, and it is increasing year by year.

With the consumer gene market "hot", a number of enterprises related layout. Data from the 2018 Genetic Testing Industry Research Report shows that there are currently 113 companies providing consumer-level genetic testing services***, of which 31 companies have consumer-level genetic testing as their main business, most of which are startups. The fast-growing ones include 23 Magic Bio, WeGene and a few other companies. Mainstream genetic testing companies, including UW Genetics and Berry Genetics, have also extended their business to consumer-grade genetics.

The 21st Century Business Herald reporter investigated and found that the relevant content of consumer-level genetic testing on the market now includes: ancestry analysis, genetic risk assessment, potential levels such as exercise, alcohol metabolism, and other physical characteristics, medication guidelines, and other content. Consumers in the payment of fees, the testing company will be sent to the hands of the consumer collection box, the consumer collection of saliva and then courier back to the testing company, the testing company to receive the sample after 4-6 weeks will generate a test report, the consumer can log in the official website of the testing company or public number to view.

However, an industry insider told the 21st Century Business Herald that the quality of the test report is extremely dependent on the testing company's ability to interpret the data, which needs to be built on the accumulation of existing academic research and genetic databases, as well as professionals in the corresponding fields, but it is difficult for most startups and agent testing and secondary agent testing companies in the market to have these conditions at the same time.

It is understood that there are some immature projects are over-commercialized and exaggerated. For example, the product introduction of an e-commerce platform said that they can not only detect the children's athletic talent, musical talent, dance talent, but also detect the children's emotional intelligence, such as "leadership decision-making ability", "frustration tolerance", "willpower" and so on. The first is the "willpower", which is a key component of the "willpower".

For this chaotic phenomenon, 23 magic formula founder Zhou Kun pointed out in an interview with the 21st Century Business Herald, in the past 10 years, there are too many businesses over-exaggerated publicity, resulting in consumer-level gene sequencing once distrust. At the same time, Zhou Kun also pointed out that there are no clear laws and regulations to regulate consumer-level genetic testing, the future should be set up relevant regulatory policies, which will facilitate the healthy development of the industry.

Zhou Daixing also believes that scientific and rigorous consumer-level genetic testing can provide important reference data for public health, if supplemented by professional, scientific and personalized health advice, which can greatly improve the public's health.

Data security and other issues have become a hidden concern for the industry

With the increasing application of consumer genetics, its data security, independence and other issues have also attracted much attention.

In October 2018, the news that UBM was penalized by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2015 triggered the industry's concern about the safety of genetic testing data. According to the description, at that time, Shenzhen Huada Gene Science and Technology Service Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of UWG, and Huashan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University carried out international cooperative research on human genetic resources in China with the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom without authorization, and the former passed part of the information on human genetic resources out of the country from the Internet without authorization.

UWG replied that after receiving the administrative penalty in 2015, UWTSD immediately stopped the implementation of the research work and destroyed all the unauthorized genetic resource materials and related research data in the research work, and quickly pushed forward the rectification work at the first time, and re-regulated the qualification requirements of the related cooperation, the cooperation process, and the evaluation of the effect of the comprehensive rectification.

An Internet medical enterprise founder who is laying out the consumer genetic testing said to the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the health data collected in this industry, each of which is prohibited from data outflow leakage, for this reason, even if there is a business cooperation with foreign companies, but the data ownership is certainly not in the other side.

The relevant person in charge of Berry Genetics also pointed out in particular that in their cooperation with Hong Kong Prenetics is more to provide business consulting and other services, Berry Genetics to provide professional testing technology, the relevant data is to stay in the country.

Not coincidentally, recently Bill Gates also expressed concern about the independence of consumer-level genetic testing data.

In Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates' annual 2019 open letter, "The Unexpected," they mentioned the nine biggest surprises they have discovered in the course of their nearly two decades of dedication to global health and development work, and home genetic testing was gloriously listed as number two in 2018.

In Unexpected, they illustrate the important use of databases with an incident reported by Genetic Valley.In May 2018, police in California discovered the Golden State Killer, a rapist and murderer, with the help of genetic detectives over decades. They used the informally managed ancestry database GEDMatch, in which a million people*** enjoyed test results from other companies. Investigators uploaded the still-unknown killer's DNA (from crime scene samples) and located his distant relatives. And since then, more than 30 rapists, killers and victims' bodies have been identified in the same way.

In the summer of 2018, all four major companies promised they wouldn't let police into their databases without a warrant. But one of them, Family Tree DNA, allowed it to browse the database for names as well as relatives just like any other customer.

Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gates expressed dismay at the move, arguing that it was a unilateral change from policy and that users were not warned. "It means that our DNA, like our social media posts or location data, is governed by a user agreement, and once we hand over the data we lose control of it."

The industry insider above echoed the concerns of the Bill Gateses, wanting the public's private data to be secure and maintain some independence, and for legislation to be put in place to protect it in this regard.

(Source: 21st Century Business Herald)