© Reuters / George Frey
but those rounded edges looked so friendly...
Gene-testing company 23andMe has licensed a drug it synthesized using customers' DNA to Spain's largest pharmaceutical company, raising thorny questions of privacy - and property. Whose genes are they, anyway?
The Google-backed genetics firm licensed an antibody it identified and synthesized to treat psoriasis and other inflammatory diseases to Spanish drug maker Almirall SA after identifying the compound and shepherding it through animal testing itself, 23andMe
announced last week. Almirall will conduct human testing and "commercialize the antibody for worldwide use."
The deal's financial terms were not made public, but Almirall boasts annual revenues of nearly $1 billion and the 'biologic' drugs used to treat psoriasis are some of the most expensive medications in existence, costing patients up to $38,000 per year. It's safe to say 23andMe has cashed in handsomely on its customers' genetic material. Does it owe them anything?
The Almirall deal is the first time 23andMe has directly sold a product created from the genetic data of the 10 million-plus users who have submitted their DNA over the company's history. While the company claims 80 percent of its users have expressly consented to having their genetic material used for "drug discovery," its 'Therapeutics' division, which shares anonymized customer data with at least six biotech and pharmaceutical firms, has only existed since 2015, and it was only in 2018 that 23andMe inked the $300 million partnership with GlaxoSmithKline that gave one of the biggest entities in Big Pharma exclusive rights to paw through 23andMe customers' DNA for possible drug targets. Early adopters likely had no clue their genetic material would lead to such large sums of money changing hands.
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