23andMe just got bought out of bankruptcy by the pharmaceutical company Regeneron.
However, the purchase price point may be pointing to a decline in the value of genetic data.
According to 404 Media, Regeneron spent $256 million on the buyout, which would allow it to acquire millions of customers’ genetic data for just $17 per person—a fraction of what such information once commanded.
The company’s press release offers more information about the acquisition.
Regeneron’s statement, released on Monday, said it “intends to acquire 23andMe’s Personal Genome Service (PGS), Total Health and Research Services business lines, together with its Biobank and associated assets, for $256 million and for 23andMe to continue all consumer genome services uninterrupted. Regeneron is working on personalized medicine and new drug discovery, and the company itself has sequenced the genetic information of nearly three million people in research studies.”
In other words, the pharmaceutical company is capable of providing similar services that 23andMe once did for its customers.
It also plans to use the acquired data to inform drug development. The company is known for its initiative to improve therapeutic targeting, particularly in areas like rare disease, oncology, and metabolic disorders.
The value of genetic data
The price tag of this acquisition suggests that the value of genetic data is declining.
Back in 2018, the drug company GSK made a $300 million dollar deal with 23andMe which allowed it to acquire the genetic data of 5 million people. That means the value of each customer’s data was about $60 at that time.
Now, similar data was acquired from the company for $43 less per person.
The shift highlights waning investor confidence in consumer DNA testing companies, many of which have struggled with data privacy concerns and dwindling public interest.
Comparatively, private equity firm Blackstone bought Ancestry.com, another genetic sequencing company, for $4.7 billion back in 2020—a figure that now seems striking given the steep discount at which 23andMe’s assets were sold.
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