Personal genomics startup 23andMe has just gone through a round of layoffs, we’ve confirmed. The company declined to comment on how many people were laid off, but offered this statement:
We have reduced our staffing levels in a restructuring of our workforce. This was a very difficult decision, but one that we felt was necessary to achieve 23andMe’s long-term business development goals and maintain our strength in the industry.
These cuts, which are a reflection of the current economic environment all companies are facing, will allow us to continue to invest in the growth of our Personal Genome Service and research endeavors.
23andMe was founded by Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki back in 2006. Investors include biotech powerhouse Genentech, as well as New Enterprise Associates. The company also has close ties to Google — Sergey Brin (who is Wojciki’s husband) has loaned 23andMe $10 million, and Google also has a stake in the company.
Avey left the company in early September to start a new foundation dedicated to Alzheimer’s research.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll said it again: there’s little doubt in my mind that personal genomics will be a booming industry in the relatively near future, though it may be five years or a decade before this testing really catches on. The concept is still quite foreign to most people, and while there can be some benefits to this kind of testing (such as learning your risk factor for certain diseases), the science is still very much in its infancy.
Mike, maybe they got rid of the person who decided it was a good idea to stalk you with a blimp.
did they use their own services to figure out which employees have the better genes for the future and use that to decide who to cut?
I’m really going to miss that blimp.
Well, I guess that makes them “23withoutMe”.
Or something.
More like 23andEpicFail.
“I’ll said it again”… Double Epic Fail
No one is going to pay for this. I’m surprised this and Zivity have not ended up in the deadpool yet.
too big to fail ……………………………… billionaire backer
Believe it or not, some people will pay out of sheer scientific curiosity… Perhaps your lack of interest reflects more upon your personality than you’d like…?
With health-related products having such high demand, being able to profile your own genome would seem to be incredibly empowering. The real bottleneck is the price point for the initial sequencing.
I agree…
I would love to have this done.
Maybe not for the disease side of it… because to me that’s kind of like knowing what is going to kill you (Like GATTACA the movie)
But, I would LOVE to see my ancestral history.
Though, I’m kind of a history buff as well.
The biggest issue I have is with the price point. I would like to know this info… but, i’m not willing to pay $399 for it. Maybe if it was down to $99 or so, then I might consider it.
intrigiugin product, but it seems like one of those things where someone says… “cool and really great” but will not buy it. this seems a little way ahead of it’s time without a viable business model and continuity. $399 for a novelty type product to satisfy your curiosity and end up sticking it in the bottom of the drawer.
“some people” paying doesn’t cut it… you need more than just “some” and people buying it for “curiosity”.
saying that, sergin brin will never let his wife fail… so at least it is safe for now. if it was anyone else, this would have been in the deadpool a long time ago.
sorry for the typo, i meant “intriguing” not “intrigiugin”.
Very sorry to hear that. I agree we’ll eventually get there. How long will depend on Congress, Big Pharma, Insurance companies and individuals.
We need strong privacy regulations and laws against penalizing people with “bad genes”. However, we’ll need to rely on Congress to get that right (anyone have a chance to read the current health reform bill?)
Who’s going to pay? It could eventually pay for itself with better targeting of drugs and other therapies. Currently, a drug might treat millions but if a dozen have a negative reaction it gets pulled. Big pharma has been striving towards more personalized medicine and genetic info is key.
Moreover, learning about future risk will help individuals plan and perhaps prevent.
“…a drug might treat millions but if a dozen have a negative reaction it gets pulled.”
Do you REALLY believe in what you’ve just said?
Connections between genetics and drug response are well-documented. What’s worse, people may be prescribed drug that will not be effective in their particular case. Example is http://en.wikip.../wiki/Tamoxifen where the treatment is not effective for women with a particular gene variant.
Jason, it’s too early for this kind of startups. 23andme ’s service is unimpressive atm. They only extract your SNPs which means they are unable to catch up with current or future literature that involves more than SNPs, like miRNAs. Currently too few reports have been incorporated and some fail badly (one report suggests i have the obesity gene, while i ‘m one of the skinniest men alive)
Maybe they’ll be acquired by some biotech giant that can support full sequencing in a few years. until then, it’s just a toy.
This is racist!
Some people have no moral compass whatsoever.
Try buying one. Or maybe a book about the sad story of Eugenics, its’ application to particularly inhumane schemes… oh! yeah! a bit of the history in ‘racial theories’ and where they lead might be helpful too.
It won’t take a second for the information of this sort to leak to whatever interested party for a small change. Starting from the ‘health’ providers and ending with evil intended war-sick gov. agencies (domestic and foreign). Then it would be used AGAINST the people. So, individuals who are allowing ANYBODY to posses this information about them – are just sick (innocent?) idiots.
It makes me sad. But it’s what they get for not advertising more.
A serious add campaign on the massive radio show, like Hannity or Limbaugh would turn them around in 8 hours.
how many got canned and what were their roles?
Where’s the “25% Of 23AndMe Workforce Canned!” headline ? (from staff of 4)
THIS JUST IN! GIANT 23ANDME BALLOON SPOTTED OVER SAN FRANCISCO>>> 6 Y/O BOY ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN ACCIDENTALLY TRAPPED INSIDE PRIOR TO LAUNCH.
In all honesty though, I wouldn’t say that “personal genomics will be a booming industry in the ***relatively near future***” …. future yes, relatively near future not so much.
I think that is something that will belong to the next generation, not our’s (i’m 20 and this creeps me out even though I consider myself ahead of the curve)
Definitely an interesting space but their team has rot. They have long needed to gut the place, hopefully they were extremely aggressive!
“Layoff” seems to be in every other news story these days, and for the sake of science, I hope this is just a temporary setback for 23andme.
In a climate of very little stability out there, I’d encourage others to look for stability in the only thing they can control- themselves. Since we’re also talking about being more creative during this economic slump, why not think outside the box of looking to work for another regular job in the first place?
I’m rather amazed that there are plenty of skill sets that are for whatever reason not “conventional” enough to be taught in schools, but the mastery of which would lead to more autonomy.
Most of us are trained to be employees- nothing wrong with that, but I’m convinced that thinking that way is a kind of limitation that keeps many from learning skills that would allow them to carve out there own path to income.
One of them is as close as the computer in front of a job seeker.
For the first time in history, we are 3 feet in front of the world, yet few learn how to use it in a way to render 1) value to others and 2)income for themselves.
While there are many hyped-up websites out there promising the world and delivering little (ask me how I know), there are also some great exceptions, and this one comes highly recommended.
It’s also helped me build online income and with over a billion people online a and growing, it’s a solution I think more people should consider.
http://leavethejobbehind.com
Just cuz your hubby has a few billions does not make you a competent businesswoman.
Enjoy your hobby company. Employees beware.
I just saw the blimp yesterday, so apparently they have not fired the blimp.
The way US health insurance works right now if you used 23-And-Me are essentially paying to have a documented “pre existing medical condition” which will kill you shot at future medical insurance. I wrote a bit on these medical privacy issues in the past: http://www.win-...ed-against-you/
Nonsense. You are protected from discrimination based on genetics: http://en.wikip...crimination_Act
And from that very Wikipedia article: “While GINA has been cited as a strong step forward, some say that the legislation does not go far enough in enabling personal control over genetic testing results.” and in the linked materia: “does not prevent genetic discrimination against people when they are applying for life insurance, or long term care and disability insurance.”
What happens to your DNA info after they go out of business is it sold to the highest buyer (which would probably been a group of health insurance companies)
I am shocked, SHOCKED, that spit parties never took off!
personalize medications and health therapies will become integrated, standards of care delivery, but not today.
glad to see you’re using your minor in society and genetics.
I’m a customer of 23andMe and love the service. They just rolled out a new feature that genetic genealogists are very excited for called Relative Finder. I really hope they make it through as they’re currently the best at what they do. I bought when the price dropped from $1,000 to $399, my primary interest was to see if I had the APOE4 mutation which increases Alzheimer’s risk. Apart from that I have found quite a bit about my ancestry that I did not know before, even having done years of (amateur) traditional research.
definitely a necessary move. glad to see the economy forced reality upon this hoax even with the sugar daddy backers
this is not a real business, and science has not acheived this level of sophistication. a better shot is Integrated Diagnostics
Thats unfortunate. I thought they would make it.
I hear its anyone who was making the product usable for their customers or helping them with it. Don’t see how they can stay in DTC business without having those people. Perhaps now that they have enough data in their collection, the plan is to shut down and take the info for some other venture.
OK,
Seriously think about it.
Navigenics hires and Insurance Guy as their CEO, Jack Lord of “Humana”
23andMe lays off a bundle of people, including Linda Avey.
DeCode bombs, deCodeme is dead
TruGenetics has no funders/takers
Daniel Vorhaus JD has a thought experiment and evaluation of the legal precedent. Turns out, despite a good Terms of Service, the company that “acquires”(Google) the bankrupt company (23andMe) can obtain the genomes, despite what the Terms of Service of 23andME say.
http://www.geno...nomics-company/
Yet again another reason why these companies are scams and fails….Buyer beware, this is crazy!
-Steve
http://www.theg...pa.blogspot.com
speaking of crazy…