The move by Pathway Genomics, San Diego, a trendy bio-tech company to sell a genetic test kit through retail outlets that can assess users’ predisposition to various diseases has sparked off a furious debate in America over its ethical and moral dimensions. The company had announced that it would start selling the ‘Spit Kit’ through the nation’s 7,500 Walgreen stores. 
Packaged in a box with “Discover Your DNA” imprint, with a stamped envelope enclosed. Spit kit can be mailed back to company. Customers can then go to the Pathways website to order specific tests and pay the required fees. They can also get the results via the Web.
Using the $20-$30 ‘Spit Kit’, customers can mail a dab of their sputum to labs for tests that will examine DNA variations to determine their risk of getting heart disease, diabetes, various forms of cancer, besides their reaction to common drugs. Depending on the range and depth of information, the tests will cost up to $300. This idea of Pathway Genomics is not a new one. Personal genomics companies have been around for around three years. But by going retail Pathway hope to become the front-runners in this field.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has not approved or validated the test kit and ethicists are also concerned. They say learning about predisposed diseases will raise moral issues relating to marriage, childbirth, inheritance, and even business and professional decisions. Medical insurance companies and the clergy are yet to pitch in. Pathway, on its part, says FDA clearance is not necessary to sell the Spit Kit, because, it insists, the tests are not intended for use in diagnosis, treatment or for the mitigation or cure of a disease. Anyway let’s wait some days to evaluate the actual result and feedback to Pathway’s revolutionary initiative.
