Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said on Monday it would buy 23andMe out of bankruptcy for $256 million. The acquisition gives Regeneron the company’s genetic samples and data for millions of individuals. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to buy 23andMe for $256M — taking control of genetic data of millions https://t.co/wh3uEsfQH7 pic.twitter.com/1bg9I6tUzi — New York Post (@nypost) May 19, 2025 From the New York Post: It will acquire 23andMe’s Personal Genome Service, Total Health and Research Services and its large biobank, including genetic data of more than 15 million customers – raising privacy concerns from individuals who had willingly handed over the samples to completely different owners. All of 23andMe’s genetic testing services will continue uninterrupted, and the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 pending bankruptcy court and regulatory approvals, Regeneron said. The Tarrytown, New York-based pharmaceutical company pledged to remain compliant with 23andMe’s consumer-privacy rules and vowed to work with a court-appointed ombudsman who will investigate the matter. “We assure 23andMe customers that we are committed to protecting the 23andMe dataset with our high standards of data privacy, security and ethical oversight and will advance its full potential to improve human health,” Aris Baras, head of Regeneron’s genetics center, said in a statement. But the pharmaceutical company will be acquiring an unprecedented collection of genetic data that has been building up since 23andMe launched its breakthrough direct-to-consumer testing in 2007. 23andMe just sold your DNA sample to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for about $17. Bankrupt genetic-testing firm 23andMe agreed to sell its data bank, which once contained DNA samples from about 15 million people, to the drug developer Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for $256 million. pic.twitter.com/e8tgRnfZxz — Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) May 19, 2025 “We have reached a sale agreement with @Regeneron, a leading US-based biotechnology company, to carry forward 23andMe’s mission and maintain customer privacy protections,” 23andMe stated. We have reached a sale agreement with @Regeneron, a leading US-based biotechnology company, to carry forward 23andMe’s mission and maintain customer privacy protections. Read more about today’s announcement here: https://t.co/0HeAPVmWzH — 23andMe (@23andMe) May 19, 2025 Per Reuters: South San Francisco, California-based 23andMe filed for bankruptcy last month, seeking to sell its business at auction after a decline in consumer demand and a 2023 data breach that exposed sensitive genetic and personal information of millions of customers. The second-highest bid, for $146 million, was submitted by a nonprofit research institute founded by 23andMe’s former CEO and cofounder Anne Wojcicki, according to court documents. The transaction, expected to complete in the third quarter, puts the spotlight back on data privacy issues sparked off by the data breach. 23andMe, once a trailblazer in ancestry DNA testing, has also faced dwindling demand for its core services. The transaction “starts to bring about a good conclusion to what otherwise could have been a difficult bankruptcy case,” said trial attorney Daniel Gielchinsky, co-founder and partner at DGIM law. Gielchinsky said Regeneron, with its proven track record, will do a better job in the long run of protecting consumer information safeguarded by privacy laws. The hack and subsequent bankruptcy filing have drawn scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers concerned that genetic data on millions of customers could be sold to unscrupulous buyers.