Struggling DNA testing firm 23andMe to be bought for $256m

The DNA testing agency 23andMe says it has entered into an settlement to be acquired by Regeneron Prescribed drugs for $256m (£192m).

It comes two months after the corporate filed for chapter safety within the US.

23andMe mentioned Regeneron had dedicated to adjust to its privateness insurance policies as a part of the deal, and that Regeneron has safety controls in place to guard person information.

Final month, the agency agreed to have an ombudsman oversee the safety of person information in response to calls for by a number of state attorneys basic within the US.

The officers expressed concern over the potential for unscrupulous consumers to wield the info in opposition to customers.

Regeneron will purchase almost all of 23andMe’s property, the company said in a statement.

Its subsidiary Lemonaid Well being might be wound down below the settlement.

23andMe will proceed to function as a wholly-owned unit unit of Regeneron, which mentioned it will use the agency’s information for drug growth.

“We’re happy to have reached a transaction that maximizes the worth of the enterprise and permits the mission of 23andMe to reside on, whereas sustaining important protections round buyer privateness, alternative and consent with respect to their genetic information,” mentioned 23andMe’s board chairman Mark Jensen.

The deal was made by means of public sale final week as a part of the corporate’s chapter proceedings.

The corporate declined to remark additional when approached by the BBC.

Regeneron has totally different goals from those 23andMe introduced to customers, in response to Dr Jennifer King, privateness and information coverage Fellow on the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Synthetic Intelligence.

Dr. King, who has interviewed a number of 23andMe customers for her analysis, mentioned the corporate “at all times led with the non-profit ‘we’re serving to humanity’ aspect which helped obscure its for-profit mission”.

However she added a profit-driven mission was prone to be clearer to clients now that it “is within the sole management of an organization that’s doing genetic analysis for pharmaceutical growth”.

23andMe was co-founded in 2006 by Anne Wojcicki who served as CEO till stepping down in March.

Over time, the corporate acquired high-profile endorsements from celebrities together with Oprah Winfrey, Eva Longoria and Snoop Dogg.

23andMe went public in 2021, which noticed its worth prime $6bn – nevertheless it by no means turned a revenue.

The once-celebrated firm has struggled amid weak demand for its testing kits and by no means managed to redefine its enterprise mannequin.

A subscription service failed to realize traction with clients and efforts to make use of its large trove of information to maneuver into drug growth additionally faltered.

Then in 2023 the corporate skilled an information breach that uncovered the genetic information of tens of millions of customers.

The agency finally settled a lawsuit alleging it failed to guard the privateness of almost seven million clients whose private data was uncovered.

Hackers gained entry to household bushes, start years and geographic areas, by utilizing clients’ previous passwords, however the firm maintains the info stolen didn’t embody DNA data.

Two months after the settlement, it slashed 200 jobs – about 40% of its workforce.

Ms Wojcicki tried to take the corporate personal however was not open to a third-party takeover.

When 23andMe filed for chapter safety in March, attorneys basic from a number of US states suggested its clients to purge their data from the agency’s database.

On the time, the corporate mentioned it will proceed to guard buyer information as specified by its privateness coverage, and any purchaser of the corporate must abide by legal guidelines that apply to how buyer information is handled.

However its privateness coverage additionally included language which allowed for private data to be accessed, bought, or transferred if it was “concerned in a chapter, merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of property”.

23andMe agreed to a court-appointed overseer of buyer genetic information after a number of states alleged the corporate was failing to take information safety critically sufficient.