Regeneron Pharmaceuticals on Monday announced it is buying 23andMe out of bankruptcy for $256 million – taking with it the company’s extensive trove of genetic samples and data.
It will acquire 23andMe’s Personal Genome Service, Total Health and Research Services and its large biobank, including genetic data of more than 15 million customers – raising privacy concerns from individuals who had willingly handed over the samples to completely different owners.
All of 23andMe’s genetic testing services will continue uninterrupted, and the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 pending bankruptcy court and regulatory approvals, Regeneron said.
The Tarrytown, New York-based pharmaceutical company pledged to remain compliant with 23andMe’s consumer-privacy rules and vowed to work with a court-appointed ombudsman who will investigate the matter.
“We assure 23andMe customers that we are committed to protecting the 23andMe dataset with our high standards of data privacy, security and ethical oversight and will advance its full potential to improve human health,” Aris Baras, head of Regeneron’s genetics center, said in a statement.
But the pharmaceutical company will be acquiring an unprecedented collection of genetic data that has been building up since 23andMe launched its breakthrough direct-to-consumer testing in 2007.
The onetime Silicon Valley darling — known for its DNA testing kits and auto-generated family trees — saw its valuation soar past $6 billion after going public in 2021.
It has since plummeted to just $50 million, due in part to a massive $30 million settlement linked to a data breach that compromised the personal information of nearly 7 million users.
After the firm filed for bankruptcy in March, California Attorney General Rob Bonta urged customers to delete their data from 23andMe’s database and demand the company destroy any samples still being held before a company bought up its assets.
Customers can go to Settings in their 23andMe accounts to view and delete their data, and navigate to Preferences to withdraw their consent for research and have any stored saliva samples destroyed.
Anne Wojcicki, chief executive of the ancestry testing firm, announced she was stepping down from the company on the day of the bankruptcy filing after a monthslong internal feud with the board over her proposal to take the company private.
All seven of 23andMe’s independent board members had resigned in September in a stinging rebuke to Wojcicki, a Yale-trained biologist who co-founded the company in 2006.
Along with leading the popular genetic testing firm, whose kits were once featured in Oprah Winfrey’s annual list of favorites, Wojcicki had several high-profile relationships throughout her career.
She was married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin for eight years before their divorce in 2015, and dated former Yankees star Alex Rodriguez from 2016 to 2017.
