23Andme, the company whose email in-self test kit has become synonymous with DNA testing Bankruptcy filing Sales have slowed down four years after it was released. Anne Wojcicki, who co-founded 23andme in 2006, has resigned as CEO When a company tries to find a buyer.
January, 23 Andme said It slowed demand for products in 2023 and sought sales options amid a major data breaches fallout in 2023. The company also announced layoffs Approximately 40% of the workforce in the second half of 2024. Recently, company stocks Soaked for less than $1is at risk of delisting from the Nasdaq.
in Beware of the customerssaid nothing has changed about how customer data is stored, managed and protected, and what the company is currently open to business and selling DNA kits. “Through this process, we will share our commitment to customer data privacy and try to find partners that will enable us to enable our mission to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome,” the company said in its post.
At its peak, 23andMe became the most famous name in the emerging realm of DNA self-testing, with users paying $99 for a kit that gave them insights about their genetic makeup, potential relatives and ancestors. However, the company’s momentum has slowed in recent years after a $3.5 billion offer in 2021.
Those who use 23AndMe and are worried about what will happen to your data in sales can download information and delete their accounts, and can ask them to destroy DNA material in addition to deleting the data. Doing so will prevent future research from using DNA information, but will not be able to be removed from research already underway.
“Get the data from there.”
Arthur Kaplanhead of Medical Ethics Department NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine has been critical of 23andMe for decades. He said he was not surprised by the announcement, I just predicted it in January.
“They were more interested in getting the data and resold their saliva,” Kaplan told CNET. “It was sold, sold and received as something like a cute enthusiast. But it wasn’t actually a goal that gave it a worthy value that it once was.”
Caplan said the company’s business model promised ancestral information that it thought was unreliable from the start.
“I don’t think science was very good,” he said. In addition to selling the company, there is no legal obligation to ensure the privacy of the customer under another owner.
The risk, Caplan said, is that the data can be used in ways that people who handed over the saliva can’t expect.
“DNA information is very sensitive. You can tell them about your father. Government agencies can lead you to things you don’t think about,” he said. “Genetic data can be used to advertise or sell to you. A third party can determine that you are not eligible for insurance.
“My advice is to get rid of your data from there. I don’t leave it there and it might be too late,” Kaplan said.
