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23andMe (ME) will have a second life.
The genetic-testing company, which had a $6 billion valuation at the time of its 2021 IPO, declared bankruptcy in late March. Today the company announced its purchase by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for $256 million, in a deal expected to finalized in the third quarter of 2025.
Regeneron is a biotech company using proprietary technology producing antibodies to treat cancer and diseases of the eye, brain, blood, cardiovascular system and others. Its current market cap is $64.2 billion.
When 23andMe declared bankruptcy, there were myriad concerns about users’ privacy, especially after a 2023 data breach affecting 6.9 million people. This April, the company was subjected to a Congressional investigation into the fate of its users’ sensitive information.
The sale to Regeneron makes some synergistic sense: In February 2024, 23andMe signaled its intent to sell user data to pharmaceutical companies, like its longtime partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). About 85% of users had voluntarily opted to allow their information to be used for medical research, a company spokesperson told NPR in late 2024.
23andMe had been struggling in the wake of the data breach, with its stock tumbling by 98 percent from 2021 to November 2024. It then halted work on new therapies, laid off hundreds of employees and agreed to a $30 million settlement related to the breach.
After the initial novelty of learning one’s family roots, consumer interest in 23andMe plateaued. Many of the 15 million users who paid the company for the initial ancestry test didn’t follow up with other features, a “one and done” business model that prompted questions about the company’s sustainability. Co-founder Anne Wojcicki viewed monetization of data mining as the future of 23andMe.
Wojcicki made repeated attempts to take the company private in the past year. The most recent was in early March; she stepped down as CEO later that month, when Chapter 11 proceedings began.
The Regeneron purchase does not include Lemonaid, a 23andMe telehealth subsidiary that will be wound down. Regeneron says it will honour the existing privacy policies of 23andMe, which will operate as a “wholly owned direct or indirect subsidiary.”