Regeneron Pharmaceuticals will acquire all of 23andMe’s assets except Lemonaid Health, its telehealth arm|WidQuinn|CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is buying the company that helped millions trace their ethnicity through DNA testing, 23andMe, for $256 million. The drug developer placed the winning bid in the bankruptcy auction.
Valued at $6 billion in 2021, 23andMe faltered due to weak recurring revenue and a 2023 data breach affecting 7 million users. It reached a market cap of $20 million in March, when it filed for bankruptcy protection.
The deal, still pending approval from the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, is expected to close in the third quarter.
Regeneron will acquire all of 23andMe’s assets except Lemonaid Health, its telehealth arm bought for $400 million in 2021, which will be shut down.
The acquisition puts around 15 million customers’ sensitive genetic data and personal information like names, shipping addresses, and credit card information in the hands of the pharma company. It could be used in drug research.
Regeneron says it is “committed to protecting the 23andMe dataset.” Just a few months back, California’s attorney general advised users on how to delete their information and revoke access from being used in third-party research.