23andMe sells gene-testing business to DNA drug maker Regeneron

Bankrupt genetic-testing steadfast 23andMe agreed to merchantability its information bank, which erstwhile contained DNA samples from astir 15 cardinal people, to the cause developer Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for $256 million.

The merchantability comes aft a question of customers and authorities officials demanded that 23andMe support the familial information it had built up implicit the years by collecting saliva samples from customers.

Regeneron pledged to comply with 23andMe’s privateness policy, which allows customers to person their idiosyncratic accusation deleted upon request.

“We person heavy acquisition with large-scale information management,” Regeneron co-founder George D. Yancopoulos said successful a statement. The institution “has a proven way grounds of safeguarding the familial information of radical crossed the globe, and, with their consent, utilizing this information to prosecute discoveries that payment subject and society.”

23andMe filed for bankruptcy successful March aft failing to make sustainable profits by providing aesculapian and ancestry-related familial investigating to much than 15 cardinal customers.

About 550,000 radical had subscribed to the company’s 2 superior services, which hasn’t been capable to support the institution afloat. One of those services, Lemonaid Health, was not portion of the merchantability and volition beryllium coiled down, 23andMe said successful a statement.

As portion of 23andMe’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a justice approved the assignment of a privateness ombudsman to show the merchantability process and guarantee compliance with privateness policies related to the familial worldly submitted by customers.

That material, and the familial information it produced, was 23andMe’s astir invaluable asset. The institution has said immoderate purchaser indispensable comply with existent privateness protections and national regulations.

Regeneron said it volition proceed to tally 23andMe’s idiosyncratic genomic services erstwhile the merchantability closes. The justice overseeing the bankruptcy indispensable o.k. the merchantability earlier it tin beryllium completed.

In the months starring up its bankruptcy, 23andMe tried to pull a purchaser portion struggling to extremity a class-action suit related to a 2023 information breach that gave hackers entree to lawsuit information. The institution volition effort to resoluteness those claims arsenic portion of the bankruptcy.

The lawsuit is 23andMe Holding Co., fig 25-40976, successful the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Church and Smith constitute for Bloomberg.