23andMe’s future prompts more worries, as genomic data analysis improves

Customers of genetic data outfit 23andMe may be at greater risk than they realize, suggests a New York Times story that argues the company’s woes could be short-lived compared to the longer-term threats facing those roughly 15 million people if 23andMe can’t continue as a going concern.

Certainly, the hope of founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki to turn around 23andMe seems increasingly unreachable. Following a major breach and resignation en mass of its independent directors, the company, once valued at $6 billion, is now valued at $150 million. It’s poised to be delisted next month. Press stories aren’t helping. (Would you buy one of its DNA kits?)

The company says it remains committed to “follow laws that regulate the data we collect,” but if at some point soon it can’t, that’s worrisome, says a Yale biomedical professor to the Times. He notes that hacked credit cards can be replaced, while a genome cannot. Meanwhile, he adds, the tech that analyzes genomes is advancing. Chances are it will become more revealing, too.