- General
- July 25, 2018
- 4 minutes read
GlaxoSmithKline takes $300 million stake in 23andMe and partners for drug development
23andMe Biotech company 23andMe has now partnered with drug giant GlaxoSmithKline on a 4 year deal which will see both…
Biotech company 23andMe has now partnered with drug giant GlaxoSmithKline on a 4 year deal which will see both companies collaborate and work on finding new targets and developing remedies making use of genetic data and clinical studies of which 23andMe possesses in-depth and in very valuable quantity.
As part of this deal, GSK is investing $300 million into the company led by Anne Wojcicki notable in the tech industry as both a biotech leader, sister of YouTube CEO Anne Wojcicki and ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
This partnership also comes with an option to be extended for a fifth year with the proceeds and funding being split equally.
GSK and 23andMe is focusing on translating genetic and phenotypic data into Research & Development that will both improve target selection for precision medicines, support identification of patient subgroups who are more likely to respond to targeted treatments and allow for more effective identification of patients for clinical studies, All these which play a very crucial role in the drug development sector.
Quoting CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki “This collaboration will enable us to deliver on what many customers have been asking for — cures or treatments for diseases. By leveraging the genetic and phenotypic information provided by consenting 23andMe customers and combining it with GSK’s incredible expertise and resources in drug discovery, we believe we can more quickly make treating and curing diseases a reality.”
23andMe which just 4 months ago received the first FDA authorization for direct-to-consumer cancer risk genetic test and is also a major pioneerr in direct-to-consumer testing healthcare space has already gotten over 5 million customers who make use of its services to gain good insights on their genetic profile.
Both companies will be bringing early stage programs as part of this collaboration deal which will see both pool in several resources for extensive drug development research.
Dr. Hal Barron, Chief Scientific Officer and President R&D, GSK, said; “We are excited about this unique collaboration as we know that drug targets with genetic validation have a significantly higher chance of ultimately demonstrating benefit for patients and becoming medicines. Partnering with 23andMe, an organisation whose vision and capabilities are transforming the understanding of how genes influence health, will help to shift our research and development organisation to be ‘driven by genetics’, and increase the impact GSK can have on patients.”
