Non-profit set up by 23andMe co-founder, ex-CEO, buys DNA consumer testing company’s assets for $305m
17 Jun 2025
Author
Martin Croft
PR & Communications Manager
US biotech company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals had bid $256m for 23andMe a month ago, as part of the US court-supervised bankruptcy process and had been announced as the successful bidder; however, the court allowed a last-minute attempt by 23andMe Wojcicki to buy the company she ran until stepping down in March 2025.
As of last week (13/06/25) it appears she has been successful in getting backing for her bid, with Regeneron now relegated to back-up bidder, in case the TTAM deal should fall through.
The TTAM bid is almost $50m higher than Regeneron’s. The assets being bought are almost exclusively intangibles, including trade marks, patents, and other IP rights, and, arguably the principal asset, the company’s database of customers and their DNA profiles.
In the release announcing the TTAM deal, Mark Jensen, chair of the 23andMe board and a member of the special committee of the board of directors of 23andMe which was tasked by the courts with getting the best deal possible for the company’s assets, said:
“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. 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. We will work to complete the transaction quickly so that 23andMe can begin its next chapter as a nonprofit.”
TTAM has committed to complying with 23andMe’s privacy policies and applicable law, including processing and protecting all customer personal data. Additionally, it has agreed to additional consumer safeguards to enhance protections for customer data and privacy. This includes 23andMe’s policy that allows people to delete their account and genetic data and opt-out of research in perpetuity.
TTAM will not sell or transfer genetic data in connection with a subsequent bankruptcy or change of control unless the recipient is a qualified domestic entity that adopts TTAM’s privacy policies and complies with all laws.
TTAM will continue 23andMe’s policy of allowing de-identified data to be used for scientific and biomedical research to research scholars at academic universities and other nonprofits and refuse donations from individuals or companies in specified countries.
23andMe offered low-cost genetic testing which could be used to identify someone’s genetic ancestry, find lost relatives, identify potentially harmful genetic conditions, and even perhaps get genetically tailored healthcare.
Founded in 2006, 23andMe went public in 2021, at one point hitting a market capitalisation of $6bn; but it never managed to make a profit. Attempts to build a subscription model for its services failed, and did plans to use the genetic data it had for drug development.
Worse, in 2023, it suffered a data breach involving the personal records of seven million customers. While the company says the stolen data did not include DNA records, hackers were able to view family trees, customer dates of birth, and location details. It agreed a legal settlement in the US that saw users able to claim up to $10,000.
In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office said in March 2025 that it was considering fining 23andMe £4.6m over the breach. The ICO UK and its Canadian counterpart, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), sent a joint letter to the US authorities administering the bankruptcy procedure calling for assurances that the data the company holds will be protected.
These concerns over the future use of the genetic data 23andMe had collected led are behind the reinforced protections that TTAM (and before it, Regeneron) have had to sign up to before any deal is allowed to proceed.
The latest chapter in the 23andMe story highlights the challenges that data assets can involve, particularly, as here, where it relates to consumer genetic records. Furthermore, valuable data is increasingly targeted by cyber-criminals.
US biotech company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals had bid $256m for 23andMe a month ago, as part of the US court-supervised bankruptcy process and had been announced as the successful bidder; however, the court allowed a last-minute attempt by 23andMe Wojcicki to buy the company she ran until stepping down in March 2025.
As of last week (13/06/25) it appears she has been successful in getting backing for her bid, with Regeneron now relegated to back-up bidder, in case the TTAM deal should fall through.
The TTAM bid is almost $50m higher than Regeneron’s. The assets being bought are almost exclusively intangibles, including trade marks, patents, and other IP rights, and, arguably the principal asset, the company’s database of customers and their DNA profiles.
In the release announcing the TTAM deal, Mark Jensen, chair of the 23andMe board and a member of the special committee of the board of directors of 23andMe which was tasked by the courts with getting the best deal possible for the company’s assets, said:
“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. 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. We will work to complete the transaction quickly so that 23andMe can begin its next chapter as a nonprofit.”
TTAM has committed to complying with 23andMe’s privacy policies and applicable law, including processing and protecting all customer personal data. Additionally, it has agreed to additional consumer safeguards to enhance protections for customer data and privacy. This includes 23andMe’s policy that allows people to delete their account and genetic data and opt-out of research in perpetuity.
TTAM will not sell or transfer genetic data in connection with a subsequent bankruptcy or change of control unless the recipient is a qualified domestic entity that adopts TTAM’s privacy policies and complies with all laws.
TTAM will continue 23andMe’s policy of allowing de-identified data to be used for scientific and biomedical research to research scholars at academic universities and other nonprofits and refuse donations from individuals or companies in specified countries.
23andMe offered low-cost genetic testing which could be used to identify someone’s genetic ancestry, find lost relatives, identify potentially harmful genetic conditions, and even perhaps get genetically tailored healthcare.
Founded in 2006, 23andMe went public in 2021, at one point hitting a market capitalisation of $6bn; but it never managed to make a profit. Attempts to build a subscription model for its services failed, and did plans to use the genetic data it had for drug development.
Worse, in 2023, it suffered a data breach involving the personal records of seven million customers. While the company says the stolen data did not include DNA records, hackers were able to view family trees, customer dates of birth, and location details. It agreed a legal settlement in the US that saw users able to claim up to $10,000.
In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office said in March 2025 that it was considering fining 23andMe £4.6m over the breach. The ICO UK and its Canadian counterpart, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), sent a joint letter to the US authorities administering the bankruptcy procedure calling for assurances that the data the company holds will be protected.
These concerns over the future use of the genetic data 23andMe had collected led are behind the reinforced protections that TTAM (and before it, Regeneron) have had to sign up to before any deal is allowed to proceed.
The latest chapter in the 23andMe story highlights the challenges that data assets can involve, particularly, as here, where it relates to consumer genetic records. Furthermore, valuable data is increasingly targeted by cyber-criminals.
US biotech company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals had bid $256m for 23andMe a month ago, as part of the US court-supervised bankruptcy process and had been announced as the successful bidder; however, the court allowed a last-minute attempt by 23andMe Wojcicki to buy the company she ran until stepping down in March 2025.
As of last week (13/06/25) it appears she has been successful in getting backing for her bid, with Regeneron now relegated to back-up bidder, in case the TTAM deal should fall through.
The TTAM bid is almost $50m higher than Regeneron’s. The assets being bought are almost exclusively intangibles, including trade marks, patents, and other IP rights, and, arguably the principal asset, the company’s database of customers and their DNA profiles.
In the release announcing the TTAM deal, Mark Jensen, chair of the 23andMe board and a member of the special committee of the board of directors of 23andMe which was tasked by the courts with getting the best deal possible for the company’s assets, said:
“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. 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. We will work to complete the transaction quickly so that 23andMe can begin its next chapter as a nonprofit.”
TTAM has committed to complying with 23andMe’s privacy policies and applicable law, including processing and protecting all customer personal data. Additionally, it has agreed to additional consumer safeguards to enhance protections for customer data and privacy. This includes 23andMe’s policy that allows people to delete their account and genetic data and opt-out of research in perpetuity.
TTAM will not sell or transfer genetic data in connection with a subsequent bankruptcy or change of control unless the recipient is a qualified domestic entity that adopts TTAM’s privacy policies and complies with all laws.
TTAM will continue 23andMe’s policy of allowing de-identified data to be used for scientific and biomedical research to research scholars at academic universities and other nonprofits and refuse donations from individuals or companies in specified countries.
23andMe offered low-cost genetic testing which could be used to identify someone’s genetic ancestry, find lost relatives, identify potentially harmful genetic conditions, and even perhaps get genetically tailored healthcare.
Founded in 2006, 23andMe went public in 2021, at one point hitting a market capitalisation of $6bn; but it never managed to make a profit. Attempts to build a subscription model for its services failed, and did plans to use the genetic data it had for drug development.
Worse, in 2023, it suffered a data breach involving the personal records of seven million customers. While the company says the stolen data did not include DNA records, hackers were able to view family trees, customer dates of birth, and location details. It agreed a legal settlement in the US that saw users able to claim up to $10,000.
In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office said in March 2025 that it was considering fining 23andMe £4.6m over the breach. The ICO UK and its Canadian counterpart, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), sent a joint letter to the US authorities administering the bankruptcy procedure calling for assurances that the data the company holds will be protected.
These concerns over the future use of the genetic data 23andMe had collected led are behind the reinforced protections that TTAM (and before it, Regeneron) have had to sign up to before any deal is allowed to proceed.
The latest chapter in the 23andMe story highlights the challenges that data assets can involve, particularly, as here, where it relates to consumer genetic records. Furthermore, valuable data is increasingly targeted by cyber-criminals.
US biotech company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals had bid $256m for 23andMe a month ago, as part of the US court-supervised bankruptcy process and had been announced as the successful bidder; however, the court allowed a last-minute attempt by 23andMe Wojcicki to buy the company she ran until stepping down in March 2025.
As of last week (13/06/25) it appears she has been successful in getting backing for her bid, with Regeneron now relegated to back-up bidder, in case the TTAM deal should fall through.
The TTAM bid is almost $50m higher than Regeneron’s. The assets being bought are almost exclusively intangibles, including trade marks, patents, and other IP rights, and, arguably the principal asset, the company’s database of customers and their DNA profiles.
In the release announcing the TTAM deal, Mark Jensen, chair of the 23andMe board and a member of the special committee of the board of directors of 23andMe which was tasked by the courts with getting the best deal possible for the company’s assets, said:
“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. 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. We will work to complete the transaction quickly so that 23andMe can begin its next chapter as a nonprofit.”
TTAM has committed to complying with 23andMe’s privacy policies and applicable law, including processing and protecting all customer personal data. Additionally, it has agreed to additional consumer safeguards to enhance protections for customer data and privacy. This includes 23andMe’s policy that allows people to delete their account and genetic data and opt-out of research in perpetuity.
TTAM will not sell or transfer genetic data in connection with a subsequent bankruptcy or change of control unless the recipient is a qualified domestic entity that adopts TTAM’s privacy policies and complies with all laws.
TTAM will continue 23andMe’s policy of allowing de-identified data to be used for scientific and biomedical research to research scholars at academic universities and other nonprofits and refuse donations from individuals or companies in specified countries.
23andMe offered low-cost genetic testing which could be used to identify someone’s genetic ancestry, find lost relatives, identify potentially harmful genetic conditions, and even perhaps get genetically tailored healthcare.
Founded in 2006, 23andMe went public in 2021, at one point hitting a market capitalisation of $6bn; but it never managed to make a profit. Attempts to build a subscription model for its services failed, and did plans to use the genetic data it had for drug development.
Worse, in 2023, it suffered a data breach involving the personal records of seven million customers. While the company says the stolen data did not include DNA records, hackers were able to view family trees, customer dates of birth, and location details. It agreed a legal settlement in the US that saw users able to claim up to $10,000.
In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office said in March 2025 that it was considering fining 23andMe £4.6m over the breach. The ICO UK and its Canadian counterpart, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), sent a joint letter to the US authorities administering the bankruptcy procedure calling for assurances that the data the company holds will be protected.
These concerns over the future use of the genetic data 23andMe had collected led are behind the reinforced protections that TTAM (and before it, Regeneron) have had to sign up to before any deal is allowed to proceed.
The latest chapter in the 23andMe story highlights the challenges that data assets can involve, particularly, as here, where it relates to consumer genetic records. Furthermore, valuable data is increasingly targeted by cyber-criminals.
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Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.
Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.
Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.