23andMe and its user data will soon belong to a pharmaceutical giant
1 min read
Summary
Biotech firm Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has announced its agreement to purchase the 23andMe genetic testing start-up for $256m, which includes the company’s Total Health and Research Services business.
The purchase is subject to approval by the US Bankruptcy Court, but it is expected to be approved, as part of 23andMe’s bankruptcy auction, which required all bidders to comply with the applicable laws and the company’s privacy policy.
It is still unclear exactly what information is retained by the company, despite the firm’s claims that it anonymises customer data and destroys samples upon request.
23andMe has collected data from more than 15 million customers since its launch, but filed for bankruptcy in March having never turned a profit.
If the deal goes ahead, Regeneron’s co-founder, George D. Yancopoulos, has stated the purchase will aid the company’s “large-scale genetics research” into future drugs and treatments.