“23andMe Pins Future on ‘Genomic Health Service’, Therapeutic Development”, 2022-08-09 (; similar):
Since its $400 million acquisition of telehealth platform developer and telepharmacy services company Lemonaid Health last November, 23andMe has started expanding beyond its core consumer genetic testing into a new business line called its genomic health service.
…CEO and Cofounder Anne Wojcicki added that the company has seen “real interest in the transition from genetics associated with ancestry to genetics being associated with health.” For 23andMe, this presents opportunities to provide genetically driven telehealth and pharmacogenomic services, she said.
…23andMe added ~300,000 new customers to its personal genomics service in Q1, bringing its total number of genotyped customers to 13.1 million.
The company released new genetic reports on glaucoma, psoriasis, and rosacea for its 23andMe+ subscription service during Q1 and now has more than 60 condition-specific reports available. 23andMe has no immediate plans to offer whole-genome sequencing analysis, even as some startups tout WGS rather than microarrays as the future of consumer genomics. “For the majority of the population…they are not going to learn anything additional from a whole genome, but it’s substantially more expensive”, Wojcicki said.
…23andMe said in January that it will receive a $50 million payment from GlaxoSmithKline after the British pharmaceutical giant opted to extend their drug target-discovery collaboration for a fifth and final year, until July 2023. In 2018, the companies partnered to use 23andMe’s extensive genotype-phenotype database and base of customers willing to donate personal data to identify targets for personalized therapeutics. As part of the initial deal, GSK made a $300 million equity investment in 23andMe. 23andMe also said early this year that it elected to take a royalty option in a Phase I immuno-oncology antibody program targeting CD96 that stems from the partnership. GSK is fully responsible for the drug’s development in later-stage clinical trials and will handle all development costs going forward, according to the genetic testing company. Wojcicki said that the GSK program “does open the door to expand research services again.” She said that 23andMe is thinking about what a “post-GSK world” might look like for the company in terms of research services…23andMe now has a pipeline of more than 50 therapeutic programs, including two in Phase I clinical trials.