23AndMe bankruptcy auction wins adds great effect to Regeneron's gene-based drug development efforts
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a company that is analyzing genetic data as part of its drug research, has been vigorously bolstering its capabilities for more than a decade and has acquired $256 million in assets from genetic testing company 23andMe.
The acquisition comes after the auction process that chose Regeneron's bid as the winner, which is part of the 23AndMe Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Regeneron's bid beat six other qualified bidders participating in the auction, according to 23AndMe regulatory filings. No other bidders were identified, but after the bankruptcy filing was announced in March, 23AndMe co-founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki said she resigned from her position so that she could bid for the company during the auction process. Wojicki has failed to work hard for 23 and 23 and private over the past year.
Regeneron is getting 23andMe’s “basically”, including the genetic testing company’s personal genome services, a whole health and research services business line, as well as its biobank and related assets. The drugmaker based in Tarrytown, New York, said all consumer genome services provided by 23andme will continue uninterrupted. Regeneron said it will comply with 23AndMe's consumer privacy policy and applicable laws regarding the processing of customer data.
The company said Regeneron is ready to elaborate on how it intends to use customer data and privacy measures that are reviewed by court-designated by independent customer privacy monitors and other relevant parties. Excluding from the purchase is Lemonad Health, an online pharmacy that 23AndMe was obtained in 2021. 23andMe will lower these assets shortly after the transaction is over.
Although 23andMe is known for its consumer genetics tests, the company is also trying to leverage its data for drug research. It works with pharmaceutical companies to enable them to use de-identified genetic data from their databases. This work has never been a big part of the 23andme business, but it seems important to Regeneron's plan.
In 2013, Regeneron launched a genome research program called Regeneron Genetics Center or RGC. The company said the wholly-owned subsidiary's database has more than 2.7 million sequencing exomers and de-identified health information. In the context, 23andMe says its biobank has genetic information from more than 15 million customers.
RGC applies data analysis tools and machine learning techniques to this data to find the association between genes and diseases to guide Regeneron's drug development. Regeneron said in his annual report that RGC research efforts have led to the identification of more than 30 novel genetic targets. These targets are still not public, but Ray Jaylen said research on them is continuing to use other technologies owned by the company. 23AndMe provides more genetic data for RGC for analysis.
“We have deep experience in large-scale data management, working with collaborators around the world to connect identified DNA sequences from nearly 3 million consent participants to electronic health records to safely and reliably achieve future medical advances,” George Yancopoulos, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron, said in a prepared statement. “We believe we can help 23andme achieve and build its mission to help those interested in understanding their DNA and how to improve personal health while further promoting Regeneron’s efforts to use large-scale genetic research to improve the treatment of society and prevent the overall disease of the disease.”
Purchasing still requires court and regulatory approval. A hearing held by the Bankruptcy Court is scheduled to be held on June 17. Regeneron is expected to close the deal in the third quarter of this year.
Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg, by Getty Images
