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Genetic information company 23andMe Inc.'s "spit kits" will be available at Walgreens stores, a company leader said Friday. But the company officially said no deal is imminent.
The deal, if it actually is finalized, would demonstrate how far Mountain View-based 23andMe has come since the Food and Drug Administration two years ago spanked it for not getting the agency's approval before marketing its kit to consumers as a way to uncover disease-signaling gene mutations.
The FDA last year allowed 23andMe to bring back 36 health risk reports from the kit. Until then, 23andMe focused its kit on helping people discover their genetic ancestry.
"Soon we're going to be in Walgreens," said 23andMe Chief Scientific Officer Richard Scheller at a forum at the University of California, San Francisco. "You just buy one."
It was unclear if a potential deal with Walgreens would include the full range of health reports from 23andMe or a selection of specific tests.
The company, however, appeared to backpedal on Scheller's statement and would not discuss Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) specifically. Spokesman Andy Kill said 23andMe...