A bankruptcy judge approved the sale of genetics company 23andMe to a non-profit led by co-founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki, according to a June 27 filing in the bankruptcy docket.
TTAM Research Institute is set to buy the company’s Personal Genome Service, Research Service and Lemonaid Health business for $305 million after winning the final round of bidding to buy the genetics company out of bankruptcy, the company first announced in a June 13 press release.
“As 23andMe’s founder, Ms. Wojcicki is well positioned to advance the Company’s founding vision of helping people access, understand and gain health benefits through greater understanding of the human genome,” Mark Jensen, Chair of the Board of 23andMe, said in the release.
Wojcicki said in a June 30 release that the nonprofit will continue the company’s mission of understanding the human genome for “the public good.”
“Core to my beliefs is that individuals should be empowered to have choice and transparency with respect to their genetic data and have the opportunity to continue to learn about their ancestry and health risks as they wish,” Wojcicki said.
Sale trumps Regeneron bid
The sale to TTAM replaces a $256 million bid for 23andMe by drug maker Regeneron made in May.
“We are pleased that the competitive bidding process has resulted in significantly more value to our stakeholders while enhancing critical protections around customer privacy, choice and consent with respect to their genetic data,” Jensen said.
Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia sued in federal court to block the sale in June, even though the pharmaceutical company promised to adhere to 23andMe’s existing privacy policy, saying it would “prioritize the privacy, security and ethical use of 23andMe’s customer data.”
The lawsuit alleged that a sale to Regeneron would violate privacy laws in the individual states.
What happens to user’s data in the sale?
23andMe said in the June 13 press release that TTAM would continue the policy of allowing users to delete their account and genetic data as well as opt-out of research in perpetuity.
At the same time, TTAM will continue to allow de-identified data to be used for scientific and biomedical research to research scholars at academic universities and other nonprofits, according to the release.
TTAM will establish a consumer privacy advisory board within 90 days of the sale closing and customers will be emailed at least two business days before the close of the sale with instructions on how to delete data or opt out of research.
In 2023, hackers exposed the personal data of nearly 7 million 23andMe customers over a five-month period, dealing a major blow to the company’s reputation and compounding its growth problems.
Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY; Rueters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 23andMe sale to ex-CEO’s non-profit approved by court
