American representations Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jan Schakowsky Sennts Thursday to the two potential buyers of the genetic test company in difficulty 23andm requiring details on the confidentiality of consumer data should acquire the company.
Signed by 20 other Democratic members of the Congress, the letters – which can be read here and and here—The have been sent to the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and to the TTAM Research Institute, which put separate offers to buy 23andme. In letters, they ask Regeneron and TTAM if they will continue to give customers the possibility of deleting their data and with you allow their data to be used in medical research. They also want to know if the current current policy of the 23ndme of not sharing genetic data with the police without a mandate will be confirmed, and where the two authorize to proactively inform customers of the 23nd on the sale.
After having fought for years to make a profit, the 23nd, submitted a bankruptcy file in March and put its assets on sale. Shortly after, her CEO, Anne Wojcicki, resigned. Wojcicki had attempted without sure to take the private company, but his proposals were rejected by special committed forms by the 23andme board of directors.
In May, the Biotechnology Company Regeneron announced that it had been appointed subsequent tenderer in a bankruptcy auction, offering 256 million dollars to acquire 23andm. “We believe that we can help 23 and 23 to deliver and take advantage of its mission to help those interested in learning about their own DNA and how to improve their personal health, while promoting Regeneron’s efforts to use large -scale genetic research to improve the way society treats and presents the disease as a whole Business declaration Last month.
But after the auction is closed, Wojcicki made its own applications – offering $ 305 million through a new form for the TTAM Research Institute for non -profit. The offer has prompted a federal judge to reopen the sales process, and now Regeneron and TTAM will have the chance to make a final offer.
Founded in 2006, the 23nd was the pioneer of the domain of personal genomics with its DNA test kits, that customers to learn about ancestry, family connections and certain medical risks after submitting a spindle sample. Despite the sale of more than 12 million of its DNA test kits, the company has never reached its profitability and had difficulty diversifying its sources of income after having become public in 2021. In another hit for the company, a major data violation in 2023 revealed the personal data of millions of customers, including a leak that targets users with Chinese Jewish heritage and Ashkénaze.
The new owner of 23nd would acquire his vast draft genetic data, raising questions about how this data would be used. Under the current 23andme policy, customers can choose to put their genetic data and other personal information available for medical research. They have the possibility of delegating all their data and asking the 23ndme to destroy their saliva sample. The Congress member who, Thursday, seeks to clarify the clarity of Regeneron and Wojcicki on where they plan to continue these practices.
Signatories are also designed about genetic data shared with law enforcement authorities and immigration and the possibility that genetic and other data are used to form AI models. They asked Regeneron and TTAM to disclose a full list of all third parties who currently have access to data 23andme and the stages that the two entities will take to ensure the transparency of third -party access in the future. 23NDME has planned a multi -year research collaboration with the pharmaceutical giant Glaxosmithkline.
The representatives ask Regeneron and TTAM to answer by June 26.
Wojcicki and the 23andme interim CEO, Joe Selsage, testified during a House surveillance committee Hear this week on confidentiality and national security conceifications surrounding the sale of the 23nd. During this hearing, Sentsavage told legislators that 1.9 million people, around 15% of its customers, asked that their genetic data be withdrawn from the company’s servers since the company has submitted a bankruptcy file in March.
This week, more than two dozen states and the Columbia district have filed a complaint against 23andm, arguing that the company cannot bid 15 million very sensitive personal genetic information from customers without their consent or knowledge.