Quest Diagnostics has launched a direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic test “Genetic Insights”, highlighting the continued growth potential of the market. This is in large part due to more consumers becoming eager to learn their genetic profiles and make decisions about their health, or to simply gain knowledge of their ancestral information, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Brian Hicks, Senior Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The market for genetic testing had emerged in the early 2000s because of the global scientific success in mapping the human genome in the decade prior. Not only had the Human Genome Project enabled scientists to perform ever more complex and important medical research, but it had also opened the avenue for biotechnology companies to develop and offer a variety of genetic tests.

“These tests, which were often administered through clinics, provided patients with insights of their genetic predisposition towards certain diseases. However, the past decade has witnessed a tremendous growth in DTC genetic tests, whereby consumers can directly purchase and learn more about their genetic profiles without the direct involvement of a healthcare provider as an intermediary.”

Two of the most dominant and influential companies in the DTC genetic test market today are 23andMe and Ancestry. These were both founded in the mid-2000s and expanded their services to reach millions of users in a matter of about a decade.

A plethora of genetic test manufacturers, service providers, and third-party reanalysis companies have also entered the market to meet the growing demand for consumers to better understand their genetic profiles. Notably, the most recent new players that have entered the DTC genetic test market include Amorepacific, South Korea’s largest cosmetics maker, and Quest Diagnostics, a US-based diagnostic information service provider.

Hicks concludes: “Despite the growth potential of this market, there remains one source of challenge, that being the ability of these companies to overcome the reluctance of new customers who are not trusting of the companies to properly handle their personal and genetic information. This falls under the broader privacy issues many companies today face as they have repeatedly demonstrated in recent years that they sell their users’ data and personal information to third parties.

“New companies in the DTC genetic test space will therefore fare well if they market their products and services in the upmost transparent way, as customer trust will likely become an increasingly more critical component of their sales strategies.”