23andMe Goes Public, Planning to Revolutionize Healthcare Through Genetics

I'm sure most people have heard of 23andMe, one of those companies where you can provide a DNA sample and they'll provide a detailed assessment of your genetic and family history and such.

Well after amassing one of the largest genetic databases on the planet, 23andMe has gone public and is undergoing a merger with Virgin Acquisition Group with the goal of revolutionizing healthcare through genetic research.

As a publically traded company however, their motivations inherently change from whatever they were before to 'increasing profit for shareholders at all costs.'

Virgin group itself owns a huge number of properties and is invested heavily into air travel, rail, healthcare, banking and even retail as well as now owning one of the largest human genetic databases ever made.

What with talk of vaccine travel passports, and other such limitations on human existence forthcoming one can't help but wonder how they truly intend to 'revolutionize healthcare' while continuing to increase virgin's profits.

mediacenter.23andme.com...

23andMe is a leading consumer genetics and research company that offers a personalized health and wellness experience and has built a premier genetic database to unlock insights leading to the rapid discovery of promising new targets for drug development

Transaction will provide the capital to fund additional investment in key growth initiatives across 23andMe’s consumer health and therapeutics businesses

The transaction will value the outstanding shares of capital stock of 23andMe at an aggregate enterprise value of approximately $3.5 billion

23andMe CEO and Co-Founder Anne Wojcicki and Virgin Group’s Sir Richard Branson are each investing $25 million into the $250 million PIPE and are joined by leading institutional investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Altimeter Capital, Casdin Capital, and Foresite Capital

The pro forma cash balance of the combined company will exceed $900 million at closing

Current shareholders of 23andMe will own 81% of the combined company

a reply to: dug88

Just wait until insurance companies start to adjust rates based on your genetic disposition.

a reply to: dug88

Legalized eugenics. Hitler's vision realized.

China will own all this DNA testing companies in the next few years, soo all the people DNA that have used any of this facilities will got to China, China have an eye of becoming the leading country to target health care by DNA,

China is expanding their drug making dominance and DNA data base, and will dominate the drug manufacturing market over US within a few years also.

Soo who will own all the DNA in the world? and target DNA base Treatment? also vaccinations too.

Just imagine our babies no even out of the womb and bombarded with DNA base GMO technology to make sure they become the money gravy of treatment targeting for life.

Scary stuff

a reply to: NightVision

The old an fragile will be disposed under the tag off dying from "complications" the young and able will just be used as a money gravy train for life long treatments.

I guess humans were made wrong soo now humans need to fix it and tailored for specific needs as long as it means money

23andMe offers its customers the option to participate in genetic research. To date, more than 80% of customers have chosen to participate.

Is participation opt in or opt out, I wonder.

Companies like this freak me out due to the potential of what they can do with your data.

a reply to: Zarniwoop

The Ethical issue of home DNA testing, you will be surprised.

Further concerns arise as testing companies often align themselves with pharmaceutical companies, public and private research organizations, and Google. For example, “GlaxoSmithKline purchased a $300 million stake in the company, allowing the pharmaceutical giant to use 23andMe’s trove of genetic data to develop new drugs — and raising new privacy concerns for consumers.” (Ducharme, 2018) Similarly, Ancestry is sharing its data with Google through its research subsidiary Calico. Ancestry admits that “once they share people’s genetic information with partner companies, they can’t be responsible for security protocols of those partners.” (Leavenworth, 2018).

Additionally, both 23andMe and Ancestry use Google Analytics to provide third parties with consumer information for targeted marketing. In its privacy policy 23andMe states that “when you use our Services, including our website or mobile app(s), our third-party service providers may collect Web-Behavior Information about your visit, such as the links you clicked on, the duration of your visit, and the URLs you visited.” This use of shared information allows testing services and third parties to build a comprehensive personal profile on you, which may include your genetic information.

ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu...

It sounds like fun but smells like deception, this no about helping people is about collecting as much personal data as is possible.

I will never used one of this site in my life

Now how in the heck Google is involved in all this, is beyond me, this one is a surprise to me.

a reply to: marg6043

once they share people’s genetic information with partner companies, they can’t be responsible for security protocols of those partners.

Lovely

Not a huge surprise. Little disappointing that companies aren't taking the time to regain trust with consumers and do exactly what people have warned that they'll do.

Tell me this, how do they improve healthcare without selling the names and identity behind each DNA test?

Anyone who used their product has now had personal information sold for stock.

You are now livestock.

This has got to be one of the biggest farces that these companies are pulling. The amount of information that people have shared with them is going to impact them in ways that the clients haven't even contemplated. I am never going to give someone my genetic info.

originally posted by: Zarniwoop

23andMe offers its customers the option to participate in genetic research. To date, more than 80% of customers have chosen to participate.

Is participation opt in or opt out, I wonder.

Companies like this freak me out due to the potential of what they can do with your data.

They're gaslighting you into believing the 23 has got something to do with chromosomes. In reality what they're letting you know is they'll have everyone's DNA on-file by 2023 whether you like it or not.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
Just wait until insurance companies start to adjust rates based on your genetic disposition.

More nefarious than that, my friend. Shy sky's about the limit.

originally posted by: NightVision
a reply to: dug88

Legalized eugenics. Hitler's vision realized.

Hitler, Gates...same difference:

In the USA Federal money goes to do genetic research to try to identify pharmaceutical side effect probablility and to taylor meds to genetics. In Europe they are studying metabolomics and the relationship of diet to genetic susceptibility to disease.

So this means that in the USA, Drug companies get money to identify possible side effects and to design specific people who can take certain expensive engineered meds while in Europe they are trying to figure out what foods people should eat or not eat so they never get the illness or ever get the disease come out in the first place.. Personally I would rather not get a genetic disease than to get it and have to take expensive meds that always have some side effects....watch the Pharma commercials, possible side effects most often are worse than the disease they are treating.

I got my genetics done quite a few years ago and got two gene apps. I found that the diet adjustments I made based on this information made me feel somewhat better. So how does that relate to heredity? My grandfather died at eighty four healthy as an ox and the only time he ever saw a doctor was to pronounce him dead. Sure, he had his yearly cold for a couple of weeks, that kind of runs in the family, it may even have been seasonal allergies in November which I usually get from all the stuff dying and rotting outside. What my research shows, and I have made corrections in my diet to fix things....I now eat almost like my grandfather and am mostly healthy except for some lingering stomach issues from five years of taking epilepsy drugs ending over fifteen years ago. My colon was damaged the most but I am still here. I now found that it seems to be getting better with a small glutamine supplement three times a day, the meds they gave me for epilepsy blocked glutamine production and caused problems and intolerances to foods to occur for many years afterwards. Plus, my dietary changes to control the epilepsy were based on the science that created the meds. I hope my gut still has enough power to heal itself...no sugar cravings anymore though since I started on the glutamine, that is great. I never really liked sweets that much but craved them because I am hypoglycemic but that sugar and glucose is bound and I don't make much of the enzyme to take the sacharides apart. Glutamine is the amino acid form of sugar, what gets created when the seperated glucose is accomplished. My sugar still remains at about a hundred and does go up a little, like one twenty after eating. I have a type of diabetes that is opposite of regular diabetes, my sugar dives because I can make way too much insulin if I eat something with lots of sugar, been that way all my life.

a reply to: rickymouse
The problem is, no company has proven they can put ethics above profit.

There are many things that could be done in the name of research that would help humans as a species, but often gets tossed aside for a couple billion.

After all, why help ungrateful twitter bots for a one time pay out of 3.5 billion. Sets you and grandchildren for life.

But everyone was just SO CRAZY if you were of the opinion that 23andMe were up to no good. It's hilarious how people are still blind when conspiracy theories keep getting proven as facts more and more.

a reply to: Nivhk

Big pharma companies and genetic research has nothing to do with making cures, it was not with drug making either, cures means no money, now long time treatment and specific targeting treatment is a none stop way of making money.

Children can now join the ranks of long term treatments with genetic targeting, in the name of avoiding later on diseases, but no cure, just treatments, people will be in line for this, because it will be a very attractive offer given to parents to make sure their offprings do not face the same illness as their ancestors or that is what will be sold in nice littler packages with nice flashing paper.

By the time children have a say so in what is done to them as adults they already will be used to be a rat for life to big pharma and sadly China.

The Greys already have your DNA they come and collect it when you dream.

a reply to: Lysergic


I am sure our DNA is all over, after all we shed it all the time, you are soo funny, nice to see you and glad you are still here.

In other news, make sure you take the covid saliva swab test, for your safety!?!
Jesus