Popular genetics-testing company 23andMe is partnering with drug giant GlaxoSmithKline to use people’s DNA to develop medical treatments, the company announced in a blog post yesterday (July 25).

During the four-year collaboration, the London-based GlaxoSmithKline will use 23andMe’s genetic database to zero in on possible targets and treatments for human disease.

“The goal of the collaboration is to gather insights and discover novel drug targets driving disease progression and develop therapies,” GlaxoSmithKline said in yesterday’s statement, where it also reported it was investing $300 million in 23andMe. [How Do DNA Ancestry Tests Really Work?]

It’s not yet clear which conditions will be investigated during the collaboration, but one example showed how the collaboration might work: the two companies’ previous collaboration on the gene LRRK2, which is linked to some cases of Parkinson’s disease, Forbes reported.

more https://www.scientificamerican.com/artic…rug-giant/