Thiebes Scott, Toussaint Philipp A, Ju Jaehyeon, Ahn Jae-Hyeon, Lyytinen Kalle, Sunyaev Ali
Department of Economics and Management, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
J Med Internet Res. 2020 Jan 21;22(1):e14890. doi: 10.2196/14890.
Recent progress in genome data collection and analysis technologies has led to a surge of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing services. Owing to the clinical value and sensitivity of genomic data, as well as uncertainty and hearsay surrounding business practices of DTC genetic testing service providers, DTC genetic testing has faced significant criticism by researchers and practitioners. Research in this area has centered on ethical and legal implications of providing genetic tests directly to consumers, but we still lack a more profound understanding of how businesses in the DTC genetic testing markets work and provide value to different stakeholders.
The aim of this study was to address the lack of knowledge concerning business models of DTC genetic testing services by systematically identifying the salient properties of various DTC genetic testing service business models as well as discerning dominant business models in the market.
We employed a 3-phased research approach. In phase 1, we set up a database of 277 DTC genetic testing services. In phase 2, we drew on these data as well as conceptual models of DTC genetic testing services and iteratively developed a taxonomy of DTC genetic testing service business models. In phase 3, we used a 2-stage clustering method to cluster the 277 services that we identified during phase 1 and derived 6 dominant archetypes of DTC genetic testing service business models.
The contributions of this research are 2-fold. First, we provided a first of its kind, systematically developed taxonomy of DTC genetic testing service business models consisting of 15 dimensions in 4 categories. Each dimension comprises 2 to 5 characteristics and captures relevant aspects of DTC genetic testing service business models. Second, we derived 6 archetypes of DTC genetic testing service business models named as follows: (1) low-cost DTC genomics for enthusiasts, (2) high-privacy DTC genomics for enthusiasts, (3) specific information tests, (4) simple health tests, (5) basic low-value DTC genomics, and (6) comprehensive tests and low data processing.
Our analysis paints a much more complex business landscape in the DTC genetic testing market than previously anticipated. This calls for further research on business models and their effects that underlie DTC genetic testing services and invites specific regulatory interventions to protect consumers and level the playing field.
基因组数据收集与分析技术的最新进展促使直接面向消费者（DTC）的基因检测服务激增。由于基因组数据的临床价值和敏感性，以及围绕DTC基因检测服务提供商商业行为的不确定性和传闻，DTC基因检测受到了研究人员和从业者的严厉批评。该领域的研究主要集中在直接向消费者提供基因检测的伦理和法律影响上，但我们对DTC基因检测市场中的企业如何运作以及如何为不同利益相关者创造价值仍缺乏更深入的了解。
本研究旨在通过系统识别各种DTC基因检测服务商业模式的显著特征以及辨别市场中的主导商业模式，来解决关于DTC基因检测服务商业模式的知识匮乏问题。
我们采用了三阶段研究方法。在第一阶段，我们建立了一个包含277项DTC基因检测服务的数据库。在第二阶段，我们利用这些数据以及DTC基因检测服务的概念模型，迭代开发了DTC基因检测服务商业模式的分类法。在第三阶段，我们使用两阶段聚类方法对在第一阶段识别出的277项服务进行聚类，得出了DTC基因检测服务商业模式的6种主导原型。
本研究的贡献有两方面。首先，我们提供了首个系统开发的DTC基因检测服务商业模式分类法，该分类法由4个类别中的15个维度组成。每个维度包含2至5个特征，涵盖了DTC基因检测服务商业模式的相关方面。其次，我们得出了DTC基因检测服务商业模式的6种原型，分别如下：（1）面向爱好者的低成本DTC基因组学，（2）面向爱好者的高隐私DTC基因组学，（3）特定信息检测，（4）简单健康检测，（5）基本低价值DTC基因组学，以及（6）综合检测与低数据处理。
我们的分析描绘出了一个比先前预期更为复杂的DTC基因检测市场商业格局。这需要对构成DTC基因检测服务基础的商业模式及其影响进行进一步研究，并呼吁采取特定的监管干预措施来保护消费者并营造公平的竞争环境。
