image from https://ttamresearchinstitute.org/
TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit public benefit corporation, will acquire the assets of bankrupt genetics firm 23andMe for $305 million. The nonprofit is led by Anne Wojcicki, a co-founder and CEO of 23andMe.
Under the terms of the acquisition, the nonprofit TTAM Research – the initial are taken from Twenty Three And Me – will receive all of the company assets, including its Personal Genome Service and Research Services business lines and the Lemonaid Health business. The transaction is expected to close within the coming weeks.
The firm 23andMe entered into a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri this past March. The sale follows several rounds of bidding, in which TTAM Research ultimately persevered over Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Regeneron had been the previously announced winning bidder, but it did not raise its $256 million purchase price.
The TTAM Research website is just one page. It describes the organization as “a nonprofit medical research organization dedicated to helping scientists and non-scientists join together to unravel the mysteries of DNA — the code of life. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to access their individual genetic code and be empowered to contribute it to scientific research.”
Aside from TTAM Research being founded by Anne Wojcicki, no further information about the nonprofit is available on the site, and the one photograph presented is a Shutterstock image. At its peak, 23andMe employed more than 500 people, although the company underwent a 40% headcount reduction in November 2024.
A contact – “Anne” – listed on the TTAM Research website did not respond to questions regarding the source of its funding, its intended client base or why it was operating as a nonprofit by deadline. Candid, formerly GuideStar, did not have any information on TTAM Research on its site.
According to a statement posted on the 23andMe website, as part of TTAM’s acquisition the nonprofit will “adopt additional consumer protections and privacy safeguards to enhance protections for customer data and privacy, including:
Customer Data Rights: TTAM will honor 23andMe’s existing policies that allow individuals to delete their account and genetic data and opt-out of research in perpetuity;
Customer Notification: With 23andMe’s cooperation, all customers will be emailed at least two business days before closing with details on TTAM’s role, TTAM’s commitment to privacy choices, and instructions on how to delete data or opt out of research;
Data Transfer Restrictions: TTAM will not sell or transfer genetic data in connection with a subsequent bankruptcy or change of control unless the recipient is a qualified domestic entity that adopts TTAM’s privacy policies and complies with all laws;
Privacy Advisory Board: Within 90 days of the closing, TTAM will establish a Consumer Privacy Advisory Board;
Privacy Procedures and Reporting: TTAM will implement privacy procedures, notify customers of material changes, mitigate data breaches, and prepare annual reports to be made available to Attorneys General upon request;
Identity Theft Monitoring: TTAM will offer customers two years of free Experian identity theft monitoring; and,
Research and Donations: TTAM will continue 23andMe’s policy of allowing de-identified data to be used for scientific and biomedical research to research scholars at academic universities and other nonprofits and refuse donations from individuals or companies in specified countries.”
“I am thrilled that TTAM Research Institute will be able to continue the mission of 23andMe to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome,” Wojcicki said via a statement. “We believe it is critical that individuals are empowered to have choice and transparency with respect to their genetic data and have the opportunity to continue to learn about their ancestry and health risks as they wish. The 23andMe community of consented individuals will also have the opportunity to be part of making novel genetic discoveries that improve our knowledge of DNA – the code of life – and the health and wellness of everyone. I remain committed to the 23andMe community and driving forward this mission. The future of healthcare belongs to all of us.”
