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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
States take legal action as 23andMe attempts to sell customer genetic information amid bankruptcy
Bankrupt 23andMe is facing a lawsuit over its plans to sell customer genetic information. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia took legal action this week against 23andMe in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the court overseeing the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings that the genetic testing company entered earlier in the year. 23Andme Files For Bankruptcy As California Ag Urges Customers To Delete Data The states contend 23andMe has "no right to sell their customers' genetic identities to the highest bidder" unless the company "first obtain[s] express informed consent to the proposed transaction/transfer by each consumer impacted." They want the bankruptcy court to rule on "whether and to what extent" the genetic testing company can "sell and transfer to a third party such intimate customer data without first obtaining the express informed consent of its customers," according to the filing. In the filing, the states said they were "not objectively opposed to any sale" but "contend that express, informed consent by each customer is necessary before any transfer of that customer's data can take place." Read On The Fox Business App The attorneys general that filed the lawsuit represent Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. 23Andme Probe Launched To Prevent Customer Dna Data From Being Sold To China Or Other Bad Actors "23andMe cannot auction millions of people's personal genetic information without their consent," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. "New Yorkers and many others around the country trusted 23andMe with their private information, and they have a right to know what will be done with their information." A spokesperson for 23andMe told FOX Business that the arguments made by the attorneys general in the suit were "without merit." "The sale is permitted under 23andMe privacy policies and applicable law," the spokesperson said. "We required any bidder to adopt our policies and comply with applicable law as a condition to participating in our sales process. Customers will continue to have the same rights and protections in the hands of the winning bidder." The remaining bidders, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and TTAM Research Institute, "have committed to abide by 23andMe privacy policies, and will continue to operate 23andMe as it has always been operated," according to the 23andMe spokesperson. In May, New York-based Regeneron announced it had been named the successful bidder in the auction for "substantially all" of 23andMe's assets with a $256 million bid. 23Andme Bankruptcy: Will Your Private Data Be Protected? 23andMe subsequently received a $305 million bid from Anne Wojcicki-founded TTAM Research Institute, setting the stage for another auction. The genetic testing company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March to facilitate a sale of its business. In its bankruptcy petition, the company had estimated a range of $100 million to $500 million for its assets, with estimated liabilities in the same range. 23andMe was originally founded in article source: States take legal action as 23andMe attempts to sell customer genetic information amid bankruptcy
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to buy bankrupt 23andMe in $256M deal
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced on Monday that it will acquire "substantially all" of genetic testing company 23andMe's assets. The pharmaceutical company said it won the court-supervised auction of the genetic testing company, with Regeneron agreeing to pay $256 million for the assets. 23andMe underwent the auction as part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection it filed in March to facilitate a sale of its business. In its bankruptcy petition, the company had estimated a range of $100 million to $500 million for its assets. Estimated liabilities were the same. Regeneron said the deal to purchase 23andMe's assets will close in the third quarter of 2025, provided it receives approval from the bankruptcy court overseeing the genetic testing company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. The deal will be weighed by the court in mid-June. 23Andme Files For Bankruptcy As California Ag Urges Customers To Delete Data The pharmaceutical company is buying 23andMe's personal genome service and its total health and research services segments, according to 23andMe. Read On The Fox Business App 23andMe said the deal "includes Regeneron's commitment to comply with the Company's privacy policies and applicable law, process all customer personal data in accordance with the consents, privacy policies, and statements, terms of service, and notices currently in effect and have security controls in place designed to protect such data." "Through our Regeneron Genetics Center, we have a proven track record of safeguarding personal genetic data, and we assure 23andMe customers that we will apply our high standards for safety and integrity to their data and ongoing consumer genetic services," George Yancopoulos, co-chair of Regeneron's board, said in a statement. "We believe we can help 23andMe deliver and build upon its mission to help people learn about their own DNA and how to improve their personal health, while furthering Regeneron's efforts to improve the health and wellness of many," he added. 23Andme Bankruptcy: Will Your Private Data Be Protected? A court-appointed consumer privacy ombudsman will provide the court with a report on June 10 after reviewing Regeneron's proposed purchase of 23andMe and the "impact, if any, on consumers' privacy," 23andMe said. Regeneron wants to make 23andMe a "wholly owned or indirect" subsidiary of the company following the purchase, with plans to maintain its personal genomics service. "We are pleased to have reached a transaction that maximizes the value of the business and enables the mission of 23andMe to live on, while maintaining critical protections around customer privacy, choice and consent with respect to their genetic data," 23andMe's Mark Jensen said. 23Andme Agrees To Pay $30M To Settle Lawsuit Over 2023 Data Breach 23andMe also ran telehealth subsidiary Lemonaid Health. That business, which Regeneron is not buying, will be article source: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to buy bankrupt 23andMe in $256M deal Sign in to access your portfolio
