Price of Whole Human Genome Sequencing Slashed 60 Percent

The human genome sequencing company Illumina has just announced that it is cutting its price to sequence a person's entire genetic makeup from $48,000 to $14,500. Apparently, the service is ordered through a physician, so that may avoid some of the interference from the FDA and Congress that direct-to-consumer genotype scanning companies are now experiencing.

At that rate of decline - and if the feds can resist meddling - genomes should be going for less than $1,000 in about three years.

Comments

[Almanian]

Well, hell - for that price, I'd better get TWO.

[heller]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/protein/214012061

[heller]

oops wrong link.

[Suki]

Good afternoon Ron!

[William Walsh]

Right now, the unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare -- as reported by the government (yeah, I know) are something like $107 Trillion with a T. That's a gross underestimation and assumes (as I understand it) no increase in life expectancy which is absurd.

Imagine if all of this genetic research comes up with a cure for cancer and heart disease!

That number which is over $300,000 for every man, woman and child in this country, would SKYROCKET.

This firm should be shut down. These scientists should be shot. Which, thankfully, will probably happen.

[robc]

This is what I was discussing in the thread a week or two back. $14k, almost affordable.

[Groovus Maximus]

Paging Dr. Bronwyn, STAT! I need an opinion here.

[wylie]

Apparently, the service is ordered through a physician, so that may avoid some of the interference from the FDA and Congress that direct-to-consumer genotype scanning companies are now experiencing.

Thank god for gatekeepers....wait, what?

[Robert]

This is to the good if we want the possibility of a pathway to recreational drugs being a doctor's permission, because it's one more thing that breaks the cx between a doctor's permission and medical justif'n -- as with birth control, hair growth, and some other things. Of course in some cases genetic testing can be medically justified.

[jtuf]

14K is about the cost of a week in the hospital. This is amazing.

[BlueBook]

What's the advantage of "whole" sequencing over the cheap services like 23&Me;?

[kevin]

Generating that data helps us learn more about what the genes mean, we need tons of this data to sort out patterns. However the 23&Me; style sequencing is almost as good for you, but isn't as useful for the progress of science.

Ultimately it will make more sense for individuals to get whole genome sequencing, because it will be cheaper and generate more useful information.