From Ancestry to Genetics-Based Drug Development, Richard Branson Takes 23andMe Public – BioSpace

Billionaire Sir Richard Branson believes in healthcare. This week he put more of his money where his mouth is by using his SPAC to take consumer DNAtesting company23andMepublic in a massive deal.

At Virgin, we try to partnerwith companies that can make a real difference in the world like healthcare companies...saidBransonin an interview.

The essentially reverse merger delivers $759 million to 23andMe and bumps up the companys value to $3.5 billion.Launched in2006,for most, it was a neat way to find out who youare, who your ancestors were, where they came from, and even your genetic predispositions that put you at higher risk for certain diseases.But the company has grownintoevenmore than that.

Ancestry and health have always been key components of the product but more and more the future is the health side. How is it that you can get your genetic information and really benefit from the Human Genomeand life a healthier life?saidCEOand co-founderAnne Wojcicki.

Its these exciting opportunities in the healthcare aspect that convinced Branson the company was ripe for his next big investment.

23andMe, for instance, just their drug development side could shorten the development of a new drug using allthe knowledge that theyve gained over the last twelve years by as much as 3 years which makes coming up with drugs that much quicker, said Branson.

Both Branson and Wojcicki personally contributed $25 million to the deal. Branson was also an early investor in the company, having contributed to 23andMes Series A.

23andMes first program,Move Forward, is now in humantrialswithpartnerGlaxoSmithKline.Theimmuno-oncologyprogram was GSKs, validated by 23andMes proprietary algorithm.Wojcicki was tightlippedfor nowon the timeline for any data.

If you think back on our mission statement, its about helping customers access, understand and benefit from the Human Genome. And the key thing that were doing right now is helping our customers benefit. Theyregoing to benefit in two ways. One is they are going to be empowered with information to help them live a healthier life. And second is on the therapeutic side. 23andMe is working hard to say how do we analyze all this data? How do weunderstand those genetics so we can develop very personalized therapeutics that could potentially cure diseases, saidWojcicki.

All data studied as part of the collaboration with GSK and all 23andMe research is from customers who opted-in to a separate research consent. Privacy is a majorconcern for consumers in todays data age.

Last January,Spanish pharma companyAlmirallin-licensed a bispecific monoclonal antibodyfrom 23andMethat blocksallmembers of the IL-36 cytokinesubfamily. Associated with multiple inflammatory diseases and dermatological conditions, Almirall is developing and commercializing the antibody for global use.