A nonprofit controlled by Anne Wojcicki, former chief executive of 23andMe, has won the bidding process to buy the bankrupt genetic testing company.
If approved by the court, the sale would put Wojcicki back at the helm of the company she co-founded and previously attempted to take private.
23andMe, which helped popularize at-home DNA test kits and was once valued at $6 billion, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March.
The potential sale of the company has raised questions over privacy standards for genetic data, which experts say is uniquely sensitive, immutable and irreplaceable if stolen.
More than 11 million customers have given DNA samples to 23andMe, putting a trove of genetic information under the company’s control.
Wojcicki’s nonprofit TTAM Research Institute agreed to comply with 23andMe’s privacy policy and committed to adopting additional consumer protections, according to a 23andMe statement. TTAM has offered $305 million to buy 23andMe and the company’s assets.
“I am thrilled that TTAM Research Institute will be able to continue the mission of 23andMe to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome,” Wojcicki said in a statement. “We believe it is critical that individuals are empowered to have choice and transparency with respect to their genetic data.”
New York-based drug maker Regeneron Pharmaceuticals was poised to buy 23andMe before the bankruptcy judge reopened the bidding process to allow for a bid from TTAM. The final round of bidding was conducted by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and concluded when Regeneron declined to make a higher bid.
Dozens of states have filed a joint lawsuit against 23andMe to block the South San Francisco-based company’s sale of its customers’ genetic data without explicit consent.
“This isn’t just data — it’s your DNA,” said Oregon Atty. Gen. Dan Rayfield in a statement. “People did not submit their personal data to 23andMe thinking their genetic blueprint would later be sold off to the highest bidder.”
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