The drugmaker Regeneron has emerged as the winner of a bankruptcy auction for 23andMe and its DNA database, with plans to incorporate its findings within its own research while continuing to offer its consumer testing services.
The company has signed up to pay $256 million for 23andMe and nearly all of its assets, including its R&D services operations as well as its biobank of collected samples. The deal, which is subject to court approval, does not cover 23andMe’s Lemonaid Health telemedicine and virtual pharmacy business.
“Regeneron was one of the first biotech companies to bet its future on the power of DNA, fueling our drug discovery efforts so as to deliver some of the world’s leading and most innovative medicines, including treatments to prevent blindness, for allergic diseases from asthma to atopic dermatitis, for several forms of cancer, and even for Ebola and COVID-19,” Regeneron’s co-founder, president and chief scientific officer, George Yancopoulos, said in a statement.
“We have deep experience with large-scale data management, having worked with collaborators around the world to link deidentified DNA sequences from nearly three million consented participants to electronic health records, safely and securely enabling future medical advances,” Yancopoulos added. “We believe we can help 23andMe deliver and build upon its mission to help those interested in learning about their own DNA and how to improve their personal health, while furthering Regeneron’s efforts to use large-scale genetics research to improve the way society treats and prevents illness overall.”
Regeneron said it will operate 23andMe as a subsidiary, after the deal is closed sometime in the third quarter of this year—and that, when it comes to employing the DNA data collected from some 15 million former users, it is “prepared to detail the intended use of customer data and the privacy programs and security controls in place for review by a court-appointed, independent Customer Privacy Ombudsman and other interested parties.”
“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,” said Aris Baras, head of the Regeneron Genetics Center.
Protecting the health information of 23andMe’s kit-buyers has been a major public concern after the company announced its bankruptcy filing and auction plans in March. During the court-supervised sale, the company said all bidders had to guarantee they would comply with privacy laws and policies, while outlining their security controls in their proposals.
With its winning offer, Regeneron outbid 23andMe’s former CEO and co-founder, Anne Wojcicki, who has been angling to take the DNA tester private for over a year.
Wojcicki first announced her plans in April 2024, after 23andMe’s stock price had dropped by more than 97% following its market debut through a $3.5 billion SPAC deal in early 2021. One rejected offer last July totaled about $74 million.
Later that year, the company would shutter its cancer drug research plans and lay off about 200 employees, or 40% of its staff. After the company filed for bankruptcy this past March, Wojcicki stepped down as CEO to join the auction as an independent bidder.
The bankruptcy court is scheduled to consider Regeneron’s deal on June 17.