Almost 2 million 23andMe users have asked the company to delete their data in the last 2 months
The hits just keep on coming for 23andMe.
Although the embattled genetic testing giant has found a new owner, pending court and regulatory approval, nearly 2 million customers have asked to delete their data from its database since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and put the company up for sale in March.
Interim CEO Joe Selsavage revealed the number of deletion requests on Tuesday during a House Oversight Committee hearing. He attended the hearing with Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe's cofounder and former CEO.
"Since we announced bankruptcy, we've had 1.9 million customers call and request that we delete their data, and we have done so within a reasonable timeframe," Selsavage said, adding that's about 15% of its user base.
23andMe's bankruptcy announcement came after a tumultuous 2024 that was marred by a $30 million class action settlement, layoffs, and the resignation of its entire board of independent directors, among other issues.
In May, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said it intended to acquire 23andMe for $256 million, but the sale has received pushback from lawmakers. Attorneys general from over half of the states in the US and the District of Columbia sued 23andMe on Monday to block it from selling genetic data without customer consent.
23andMe's annual report, published Wednesday, also addressed customers' requests to delete data. As of May 31, the company said its user base had dwindled to about 14 million personal genome service customers.
"We have experienced and expect to continue to experience significant declines in PGS revenues in the near-term as a result of the Chapter 11 Cases, the Cyber Incident, negative media coverage, the pending Transaction, and other general market and economic trends," the company said in its annual report.
The company added that customer fluctuation could impact the size of its database.
"If the number of our customers consenting to participate in our research programs declines or fails to grow, our research services revenue may be adversely affected, and our database may become less effective in facilitating our ability to create new features, products, and services to offer to our customers," the company said.
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