When the Silicon Valley-based 23andme, which sells dna-test kits for genealogy research and medical genetic analysis, applied for bankruptcy protection at the end of March, the message was that the assets – including information about 15 million users – would be sold to the highest bidder.
Now, the American biotech company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals reports that it has entered into an agreement to buy the company for 256 million dollars.
Regeneron promises that the ethical use of customers' dna data will be prioritized. The company wants to use the millions of dna profiles to develop new medicines.
In connection with the bankruptcy notice, experts on digital integrity warned that a future owner could use the sensitive information for the wrong purposes and urged users to request that their samples and data be destroyed.
According to Regeneron, the company will maintain 23andme's relatively robust integrity policy and be transparent in its work.
Given Regeneron's history, we also believe that 23andme customers are in good hands from a secrecy perspective, says William Pickering of the analysis firm Bernstein to Reuters.
Over 100,000 Swedes are estimated to have dna-tested themselves for genealogy purposes. It is unclear how many are in the current database.
Before the purchase is finalized, it must be approved by the court. A decision is expected on June 17.
