Amazon brings genetic testing to your front door

Genetic testing can determine a parent's risk of having children effected by cystic fibrosis (CF) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Most genetic testing involves giving a blood sample then waiting weeks for results, but Good Start Genetics has developed a VeriYou genetic test for easy access through Amazon.

The VeriYou test takes the saliva of both parents and tests for both CF and SMA. This can be crucial knowledge, with one in 19 Americans a carrier of CF or SMA, which means the child of two carrier parents has a 25 percent chance of having these dangerous diseases.  

Where before patients had to contact their physician to order a genetic test, VeriYou gives test quickly and accurately.

"Despite widespread clinical availability of carrier testing, too few couples are getting screened today to promote a healthy pregnancy," said Jeffrey R. Luber, President and CEO of Good Start Genetics. "By bringing clinical-grade NGS testing to Amazon for $149, we believe we can vastly improve awareness, access, and broaden the adoption of carrier screening for millions of couples starting a family. With Amazon's analytics and information engine, we have the opportunity to bring the right test to the right individual at the right time—a key promise of personalized medicine."

"Having had the privilege to lead several large product marketing initiatives at Amazon over the years, and helping grow several multi-million dollar franchises online at Amazon, we're excited to be working exclusively with Good Start Genetics as the first Amazon direct partner for genetic testing," said Nater Youngchild, Principal with Seattle-based Resolut Partners, digital stewards for new product verticals within Amazon. "We're thrilled that Good Start's next-generation sequencing tests will be made more widely available at price points never previously seen for advanced testing of this kind."