Walgreens postpones the sale of their genetic test kits

May 14th, 2010 - 2:32 am ICT by Aishwarya Bhatt  

San Diego, May 13 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Walgreens has been forced to put their plans on the backburner for the sale of personal genetic test kits. The Food and Drug Administration intervened into the matter and then Walgreens was forced to postpone their plans.

The test kits were going to be sold in the pharmacy stores starting from Friday, but then the Food and Drug Administration officials stepped in, and asked the customers to be wary of the product since it was unapproved. Then the FDA officials got in touch with the Walgreens officials and then the San Diego based company was forced to postpone the sale of the genetic kits.

“We’ve elected not to move forward with offering the Pathway product to our customers until we have further clarity on this matter,” according to a statement by Walgreens.

The genetic kits contain a plastic tube in which the saliva can be collected, and sent to the laboratory for testing. The kit also includes a postage paid envelope to send the saliva sample. The kit costs a mere $20, and the testing can cost anything between $79 - $249, depending on the things being tested for. The company offers tests to check for more than 70 diseases, and also for pre-pregnancy planning.

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