Following up on our previous postings regarding California’s issuance of cease and desist letters to thirteen (13) genetic testing companies doing business in California, two DNA testing companies are now set to resume business in California, after having received new licenses to do business in the state.

According to The Mercury News, the California Department of Health has issued licenses to Navigenics of Redwood City and 23andMe of Mountain View, which will enable them to resume business operations.  Both companies had always argued that they were lawfully doing business in the state, and the fact that the state issued them both licenses seems to be a validation of their positions.

International Herald Tribune reported on the development as follows:

The companies had argued that they were not offering medical testing but rather personal genetic information services, and that consumers had a right to information from their own DNA. The companies also said they did not need a license because the actual testing of the DNA samples was being done by outside laboratories that did have licenses.

But the two companies do their own interpretation of the raw genetic data. Now, after reviewing the procedures used by the companies, the state is satisfied that the companies’ interpretation is based on the scientific literature. . . . the companies also satisfied the requirement for a doctor to be involved.

Navigenics already was paying a physician to review customer orders and now it appears that 23andMe might be doing something similar.

There is no word yet as to whether or not the other eleven (11) genetic testing companies, which also received cease and desist letters, will likewise receive licenses to resume operations in the state of California.  Today’s move should at the very least be viewed as encouraging by the similarly affected companies.  The action should also help to calm fears as to the state’s ulterior motives in attempting to regulate genetic testing companies.

Having said this, direct-to-consumer genetic testing has been virtually non-existent in the state of California for the past two months, and it is very likely that all of the genetic testing  companies have suffered at least some financial consequences as a result.  We have yet to see what the long-term impact of this incident will be on all of the affected businesses.

For now, however, concerned Californians can rest easy knowing that direct-to-consumer genetic testing will live to see another day in this state.