Biotechnology firm 23andMe has filed for chapter, with co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki stepping down, efficient instantly.
On Sunday, 23andMe filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy within the U.S. Chapter Court docket for the Jap District of Missouri. According to a press release, it “intends to proceed working its enterprise within the strange course all through the sale course of,” with “no adjustments to the way in which the corporate shops, manages, or protects buyer knowledge.”
The DNA testing firm stated it will use the cash from the sale to “resolve all excellent authorized liabilities stemming from the beforehand disclosed October 2023 cyber incident.” The corporate agreed to pay a $30 million settlement over a large knowledge breach that affected 6.9 million users in October 2023.
As soon as valued at $6 billion, 23andMe lost 98 percent of its value in October 2024, with all independent board members resigning in September.
23andMe additionally introduced that CEO Wojcicki had resigned, with the corporate saying the choice was “by mutual settlement between Ms. Wojcicki and the Particular Committee” of the Board of Administrators. Wojcicki posted on X that she was “dissatisfied” by the result — the CEO’s bid to take 23andMe non-public was rejected in early March 2025.
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“Whereas I’m dissatisfied that we’ve got come to this conclusion and my bid was rejected, I’m supportive of the corporate and I intend to be a bidder.” she wrote. “I’ve resigned as CEO of the corporate so I will be in the perfect place to pursue the corporate as an impartial bidder.”
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Wojcicki has been changed within the interim by chief monetary and accounting officer Joe Selsavage.
So, what’s subsequent? 23andMe have filed for the U.S. Chapter Court docket to permit the corporate to unload all its property over a 45-day course of by which it will solicit bidders, after which 23andMe would conduct an public sale. “Any purchaser can be required to adjust to relevant regulation with respect to the therapy of buyer knowledge and any transaction can be topic to customary regulatory approvals,” the corporate stated in its announcement.
23andMe announced plans in November 2024 to put off about 40 p.c of its staff as a part of a restructuring program, in addition to discontinuing additional improvement of its testing know-how. For the remaining staff, 23andMe stated it has “filed customary motions with the Court docket in search of quite a lot of ‘first-day’ aid, together with the authority to pay worker wages and advantages and compensate sure distributors and suppliers on a go-forward foundation.”
“After a radical analysis of strategic options, we’ve got decided {that a} court-supervised sale course of is the perfect path ahead to maximise the worth of the enterprise,” stated Mark Jensen, chair and Particular Committee member, in a press assertion. Jensen additionally stated 23andMe was “dedicated to persevering with to safeguard buyer knowledge…and knowledge privateness can be an necessary consideration in any potential transaction.”
