A picture of the 23andme signpost [Photo: Courtesy].
23andMe has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. due to the repercussions of a data breach and diminishing interest in its ancestry testing kits, which were once featured on Oprah Winfrey’s favorite things list just eight years prior.
In a statement obtained by King Media, the biotech company’s market value has significantly decreased since that time.
Following a dramatic 46 percent drop in share prices to 96 cents on Monday, co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki, who had previously attempted several takeover deals, stepped down from her role as Chief Financial Officer Joe Selsavage will serve as the interim CEO.
In 2021, Richard Branson’s SPAC took 23andMe public with a valuation of $3.5 billion, while rival AncestryDNA was acquired by Blackstone Group around the same period, even as sales for both companies started to slow down.
However, a significant data breach earlier in 2023 that compromised the personal information of nearly 7 million customers further tarnished 23andMe’s reputation.
The company also laid off 200 employees and halted the development of all therapies toward the end of last year.
23andMe Holding Co is best known for providing a direct-to-consumer genetic testing service in which customers provide a saliva sample that is laboratory analyzed, using single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping, to generate reports relating to the customer’s ancestry and genetic predispositions to health-related topics.
The company’s name is derived from the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a diploid human cell. Founded in 2006, 23andMe soon became the first company to begin offering autosomal DNA testing for ancestry, which all other major companies now use. Its saliva-based direct-to-consumer genetic testing business was named “Invention of the Year” by Time in 2008.
The company had a previously fraught relationship with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to its genetic health tests; as of October 2015, DNA tests ordered in the US include a revised health component, per FDA approval.