DNA testing pioneer 23andMe filed for chapter — sparking contemporary considerations about safeguarding the private knowledge of the corporate’s greater than 15 million clients.
The previous Silicon Valley darling sought Chapter 11 safety on Sunday after scuffling with weak demand for its ancestry testing kits that after featured in Oprah Winfrey’s annual record of favourite issues, and following a 2023 knowledge breach that broken its fame.
The corporate mentioned it’s going to proceed to function in the course of the sale course of, having secured $35 million in financing over the weekend.
Nonetheless, client advocates and privateness consultants have raised important considerations over the way forward for genetic knowledge held by firms like 23andMe, whose chapter might result in the sale or switch of its intensive database.
Harvard Regulation Faculty’s I. Glenn Cohen highlighted these considerations, emphasizing that customers’ genetic data would possibly find yourself “in the hands of somebody other than 23andMe, in a way that many people who have given their information to 23andMe never contemplated and might object to.”
“This might be a time to go in and delete that information in your account, even though it’s not a perfect solve,” he mentioned.
He additional expressed hope for higher regulatory options.
“I would love to see a space where people can get the information they want without feeling as though that information might put them at risk,” Cohen mentioned.
California Legal professional Basic Rob Bonta had additionally urged clients of the distressed firm to delete their knowledge from 23andMe’s database earlier than Sunday’s submitting.
Right here’s how clients can delete their knowledge from 23andMe:
- Log into your 23andMe account on their web site.
- Navigate to the “Settings” part of your profile.
- Scroll right down to the part labeled “23andMe Data.”
- Click on “View” subsequent to “23andMe Data.”
- Earlier than deletion, you’ll be able to obtain your genetic knowledge in the event you want to retain a private copy.
- Scroll to the “Delete Data” part and choose “Permanently Delete Data.”
- You’ll obtain a affirmation e mail; observe the hyperlink supplied to affirm your deletion request.
Moreover, you’ll be able to:
- Destroy saved samples:
Go to your account “Preferences” and alter your storage choices to destroy your saliva pattern and DNA. - Withdraw analysis consent:
Navigate to “Research and Product Consents” in account settings to revoke permission on your knowledge for use in analysis.
Federal protections at the moment present restricted assist to customers who’ve given their genetic knowledge to non-public firms like 23andMe.
The Well being Insurance coverage Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA), which safeguards medical knowledge, doesn’t prolong to direct-to-consumer genetic testing firms.
Whereas different legal guidelines such because the Genetic Info Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) do provide some protections in opposition to discrimination, complete knowledge privateness stays a considerable hole.
Chapter regulation presents modest safeguards by involving oversight from federal courts and sometimes privateness ombudspersons, however these protections are restricted.
In the meantime, 23andMe co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki introduced her resignation on X and revealed plans to change into an impartial bidder for the corporate she helped construct.
Chief monetary and accounting officer Joe Selsavage will step in as interim CEO in the course of the transition.
Wojcicki, a Yale-trained biologist and former healthcare analyst, co-founded 23andMe in 2006 with the imaginative and prescient of giving people direct entry to their genetic knowledge.
Her management and visibility helped propel the startup to the forefront of client biotech, particularly given her high-profile private life — she was beforehand married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin and later dated former baseball star Alex Rodriguez.
Brin and Wojcicki separated in 2013 and finalized their divorce in 2015 after eight years of marriage.
The break up grew to become public across the time studies surfaced that Brin was concerned in a romantic relationship with a Google worker, Amanda Rosenberg, who labored within the advertising division at now-defunct Google Glass.
Although neither Brin nor Wojcicki publicly confirmed the affair because the trigger, media shops extensively linked it to the breakdown of their marriage.
Each Brin and Wojcicki have remained comparatively non-public concerning the particulars and have maintained a cordial relationship, notably for the sake of co-parenting their two youngsters.
In 2022, Brin, who has a internet price valued by Bloomberg Billionaires Index at $140 billion as of Monday, filed for divorce from his second spouse, Nicole Shanahan, who would go on to change into a vice presidential candidate within the 2024 election whereas working alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Wojcicki dated the previous Yankees slugger A-Rod from early 2016 to early 2017. The pair reportedly break up amicably, with sources suggesting that their differing life and social circles contributed to the breakup.
Final summer time, Wojcicki’s older sister, Susan Wojcicki, the previous YouTube CEO who was one of many first few workers to affix Brin and co-founder Larry Web page at Google when the search engine was a startup within the late Nineteen Nineties, died after she was recognized with lung most cancers. She was 56 years previous.
Along with her scientific background and Silicon Valley connections, Anne Wojcicki performed an important function in navigating each the scientific and regulatory hurdles of business genetic testing.
Her departure marks the top of an period for the corporate, although she made clear her dedication to 23andMe stays robust.
In her farewell publish, Wojcicki acknowledged the corporate’s rocky highway however expressed satisfaction in its accomplishments.
“We have had many successes but I equally take accountability for the challenges we have today,” she mentioned.
As the corporate seeks a brand new proprietor and contemporary path, it stays to be seen whether or not the following chapter of 23andMe will fulfill the daring imaginative and prescient that after made it a biotech darling.
“There is no doubt that the challenges faced by 23andMe through an evolving business model have been real, but my belief in the company and its future is unwavering,” she wrote.
The corporate is greatest identified for its direct-to-consumer DNA testing kits, which permit clients to investigate their ancestry and well being dangers utilizing a easy saliva pattern.
As soon as valued at $6 billion within the months following its preliminary public providing in 2020, 23andMe’s market capitalization has plummeted to only $50 million.
At its peak, 23andMe’s inventory was buying and selling at round $320 a share in early 2021. As of Monday, the share worth was hovering beneath $1.
Lately, the agency has confronted mounting strain from traders and regulators, in addition to authorized troubles stemming from an enormous knowledge breach in 2023 that compromised the private data of practically seven million customers.
This previous September, the corporate agreed to pay $30 million to settle a lawsuit linked to the information breach.
In November, the corporate slashed 40% of its workforce in a bid to chop prices.
Mark Jensen, chair and member of the Particular Committee of the Board of Administrators, mentioned the choice to pursue a court-supervised sale adopted a “thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives.”
“We expect the court-supervised process will advance our efforts to address the operational and financial challenges we face, including further cost reductions and the resolution of legal and leasehold liabilities,” he mentioned.
