Pharmaceutical giant GSK Plc has announced an investment of $20 million in 23andMe Holding Co., marking an extension of their five-year collaboration. The investment grants GSK a year’s access to 23andMe’s comprehensive consumer DNA data, which includes anonymized genetic information from roughly 80% of customers who have consented to share their data for research purposes. In addition to providing the data, 23andMe will also offer data analysis services to GSK.
The DNA collected by 23andMe through its testing kits, which deliver ancestral and health information to customers, is considered a crucial resource for scientific research. With a database of over 14 million customers, only Ancestry.com and the Chinese government surpass 23andMe.
GSK plans to utilize this extensive genetic data to uncover disease-related genetic pathways, with the goal of accelerating the traditionally lengthy drug development process. A significant achievement of the GSK-23andMe partnership is a potential cancer drug that targets CD96, an immune response-modulating protein. This drug reached clinical trials within four years, a substantial reduction from the industry average of seven years. The collaboration has also identified over 50 new potential drug targets.
Under the revised terms of the agreement, GSK will retain exclusive ownership of any discoveries made using the 23andMe data. However, in a departure from their previous joint venture arrangement, 23andMe is set to earn royalties on some projects.
You can read more in an article published in Investing.com at: https://tinyurl.com/2e7szkyp.