Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) announced Monday that it has secured the winning bid in the bankruptcy auction for key assets of 23andMe Holding Co. in a $256 million deal to boost its genetics-based drug discovery efforts.

Regeneron is buying the assets of 23andMe, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March after facing a series of hurdles including a data breach.

The DNA testing firm 23andMe says it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for $256m (£192m). It comes two months after the company filed for bankruptcy protection in the US.

The pharmaceutical giant plans to continue offering 23andMe’s DNA testing service and pledged to adopt its privacy practices to protect customer data.

What happened to 23andMe? Here's a look at its history from launch to bankruptcy and acquisition by Regeneron.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said on Monday it will buy genetic testing firm 23andMe Holding for $256 million through a bankruptcy auction, and promised to prioritize the ethical use of customers' DNA data.

The price tag of this acquisition suggests that the value of genetic data is declining. Back in 2018, the drug company GSK made a $300 million dollar deal with 23andMe which allowed it to acquire the genetic data of 5 million people. That means the value of each customer’s data was about $60 at that time.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WITN) - The deadline to file claims against a DNA testing company has been announced. In October 2023, 23andMe suffered a massive data breach that potentially compromised the private genetic information of millions of people.