DNA-testing site 23andMe fights for survival

Three years ago, the DNA-testing steadfast 23andMe was a monolithic success, with a stock terms higher than Apple's.

But, from those heady days of millions of radical rushing to nonstop it saliva samples successful instrumentality for elaborate reports astir their ancestry, household connections and familial make-up, it present finds itself warring for its survival.

Its stock terms has plummeted and this week it narrowly avoided being delisted from the banal market.

And of people this is simply a institution that holds the astir delicate information imaginable astir its customers, raising troubling questions astir what mightiness hap to its immense – and highly invaluable – database of idiosyncratic quality DNA.

When contacted by the BBC, 23andMe was bullish astir its prospects - and insistent it remained "committed to protecting lawsuit information and consistently focused connected maintaining the privateness of our customers."

But however did what was erstwhile 1 of the astir talked-about tech firms get to the presumption wherever it has to reply questions astir its precise survival?

Not truthful agelong ago, 23andMe was successful the nationalist oculus for each the close reasons.

Its celebrated customers included Snoop Dogg, Oprah Winfrey, Eva Longoria and Warren Buffet - and millions of users were getting unexpected and life-changing results.

Some radical discovered that their parents were not who they thought they were, oregon that they had a familial pre-disposition to superior wellness conditions. Its stock terms rocketed to $321.

Fast guardant 3 years and that terms has slumped to conscionable nether $5 - and the institution is worthy 2% of what it erstwhile was.

What went wrong?

According to Professor Dimitris Andriosopoulos, laminitis of the Responsible Business Unit astatine Strathclyde University, the occupation for 23andMe was twofold.

Firstly, it didn’t truly person a continuing concern exemplary – erstwhile you’d paid for your DNA report, determination was precise small for you to instrumentality for.

Secondly, plans to usage an anonymised mentation of the gathered DNA database for cause probe took excessively agelong to go profitable, due to the fact that the cause improvement process takes truthful galore years.

That leads him to a blunt conclusion: “If I had a crystal ball, I’d accidental they volition possibly past for a spot longer,” helium told the BBC.

“But arsenic it presently is, successful my view, 23andMe is highly improbable to survive.”

The problems astatine 23andMe are reflected successful the turmoil successful its leadership.

The board resigned successful the summer and lone the CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki – sister of the precocious YouTube brag Susan Wojcicki and ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergei Brin – remains from the archetypal line-up.

Rumours person swirled that the steadfast volition soon either fold oregon beryllium sold - claims that it rejects.

"23andMe’s co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki has publically shared she intends to instrumentality the institution private, and is not unfastened to considering 3rd enactment takeover proposals," the institution said successful a statement.

But that hasn’t stopped the speculation, with rival steadfast Ancestry calling for US contention regulators to get progressive if 23andMe does extremity up for sale.

Companies rising and falling is thing caller - particularly successful tech. But 23andMe is different.

"It's worrying due to the fact that of the sensitivity of the data," says Carissa Veliz, writer of Privacy is Power.

And that is not conscionable for the individuals who person utilized the firm.

"If you gave your information to 23andMe, you besides gave the familial information of your parents, your siblings, your children, and adjacent distant kin who did not consent to that," she told the BBC.

David Stillwell, prof of computational societal subject astatine Cambridge Judge Business School, agrees the stakes are high.

“DNA information is different. If your slope relationship details are hacked, it volition beryllium disruptive but you tin get a caller slope account," helium explained.

"If your (non-identical) sibling has utilized it, they stock 50% of your DNA, truthful their information tin inactive beryllium utilized to marque wellness predictions astir you.”

The institution is adamant these kinds of concerns are without foundation.

"Any institution that handles user information, including the benignant of information we collect, determination are applicable information protections acceptable retired successful instrumentality required to beryllium followed arsenic portion of immoderate aboriginal ownership change," it said successful its statement.

"The 23andMe presumption of work and privateness connection would stay successful spot unless and until customers are presented with, and hold to, caller presumption and statements."

There are besides ineligible protections which use successful the UK nether its mentation of the information extortion law, GDPR, whether the steadfast goes bust oregon changes hands.

Even so, each companies tin beryllium hacked - as 23andMe was 12 months ago.

And Carissa Veliz remains uneasy - and says yet a overmuch robust attack is needed if we privation to support our astir idiosyncratic accusation safe.

"The presumption and conditions of these companies are typically incredibly inclusive; erstwhile you springiness retired your idiosyncratic information to them, you let them to bash beauteous overmuch thing they privation with it," she said.

"Until we prohibition the commercialized successful idiosyncratic data, we are not good protected enough."

Additional reporting by Tom Gerken