23andMe and its user data will soon belong to a pharmaceutical giant

23andMe will hold providing clients its DNA testing companies after being purchased out of chapter. New York-based biotech firm Regeneron Prescribed drugs announced an agreement on Monday to buy the 23andMe startup for $256 million, alongside its Complete Well being and Analysis Companies enterprise and biobank of buyer knowledge and genetic samples.

Regeneron is the winner of 23andMe’s chapter public sale, which required all bidders to adjust to relevant legal guidelines and the agency’s privateness insurance policies round buyer knowledge. 23andMe says that buyer knowledge is anonymized and that saved genetic samples are destroyed when users delete their 23andMe accounts, but it surely’s unclear how a lot data is retained and will, due to this fact, quickly be in Regeneron’s palms.

The acquisition is anticipated to shut later this 12 months, topic to US Chapter Courtroom approval. If all goes forward, Regeneron co-founder George D. Yancopoulos says the acquisition will additional the corporate’s “large-scale genetics analysis” into future medicine and coverings.

23andMe has collected genetic samples and knowledge from greater than 15 million clients since launching its at-home DNA testing package enterprise. As soon as briefly valued at $6 billion after going public in 2021, the corporate filed for bankruptcy in March after failing to show a revenue. Its co-founder and former CEO, Anne Wojcicki, concurrently stepped down from the corporate.

“We’re happy to have reached a transaction that maximizes the worth of the enterprise and allows the mission of 23andMe to stay on, whereas sustaining essential protections round buyer privateness, selection, and consent with respect to their genetic knowledge,” mentioned 23andMe chair Mark Jensen. “We’re grateful to Regeneron for providing employment to all workers of the acquired enterprise items, which can enable us to proceed our mission of serving to folks entry, perceive, and acquire well being advantages via higher understanding of the human genome.”