Business

FDA orders company to stop selling DNA testing kits

Federal regulators just spit all over Google-backed genetic testing firm 23andme.

The Silicon Valley start-up, which sought to make personalized DNA testing trendy by hosting high-profile “spitting parties,” has been ordered to stop selling its testing kits by the Food and Drug Administration.

Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki attend the 23andMe Spit party in 2008.Getty Images

In a scathing letter to 23andMe co-founder and CEO Ann Wojcicki, the agency said the company has failed to prove its product works after five years of being in business despite “hundreds of email exchanges” and 14 face-to-face or teleconference meetings with FDA officials.

Wojcicki is married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, although the two confirmed earlier this year that they had separated.

23andMe is named for the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a human cell. When the company first launched in 2007, it sold the kits for $999. Today, the same kit sells for just $99.

“Our relationship with the FDA is extremely important to us, and we are committed to fully engaging with them to address their concerns,” 23andMe said on its website.