23andMe Is Sharing Millions Of Clients’ DNA with Big Pharma

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Popular genetics-testing company 23andMe has announced it is selling the DNA data belonging to millions of its customers to Big Pharma giants GlaxoSmithKline, the company announced in a blog post.

Popular genetics-testing company 23andMe has announced it is selling the DNA data belonging to millions of its customers to Big Pharma giants GlaxoSmithKline, the company announced in a blog post.

During the four-year collaboration, GlaxoSmithKline will have access to 23andMe’s genetic database, containing the sensitive information of 5 million Americans, and there is nothing these former 23andMe customers can do about it.

23andMe also said their customers will not be compensated if their DNA is used in research.

“The goal of the collaboration is to gather insights and discover novel drug targets driving disease progression and develop therapies,” GlaxoSmithKline said in yesterday’s statement, where they also announced they are investing $300 million in 23andMe.

It’s not yet clear which conditions will be investigated during the collaboration, but one example showed how the collaboration might work: the two companies’ previous collaboration on the gene LRRK2, which is linked to some cases of Parkinson’s disease, Forbes reported.

Only about 10,000 of the 1 million Americans with Parkinson’s disease have the disease because of LRRK2. So, GlaxoSmithKline has to test about 100 Parkinson’s patients to find just one potential candidate. However, 23andMe has already provided 250 Parkinson’s patients who have agreed to be re-contacted for GlaxoSmithKline’s clinical trials, which may help the pharmaceutical company develop the drug much faster, Forbes reported.

Live Science reports: However, not everybody is on board with 23andMe’s new partnership. If a person’s DNA is used in research, that person should be compensated, said Peter Pitts, president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest.

“Are they going to offer rebates to people who opt in, so their customers aren’t paying for the privilege of 23andMe working with a for-profit company in a for-profit research project?” Pitts said to NBC.

In addition, even though 23andMe gets the consent of its customers to use their genetic data, it’s unlikley that most people are aware of this.

“The problem with a lot of these privacy policies and Terms of Service is that no one really reads them,” Tiffany C. Li, a privacy expert and resident fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project, told Tom’s Guide, a Live Science sister site. “You are paying to help the company make money with your data.”

The new collaboration isn’t the first time 23andMe’s vast pool of genetic data has been mined by scientists. The San Francisco startup has already published more than 100 scientific papers based on its customers’ data, according to yesterday’s blog post, by Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe’s co-founder and chief executive. In 2015, the company launched 23andMe Therapeutics, which focuses on developing “novel treatments and cures based on genetic insights from the consented 23andMe community,” Wojcicki wrote.

23andMe has more than 5 million customers worldwide who have had their DNA analyzed for ancestral data. People who would like to close their 23andMe accounts can go here, but the company notes that “any research involving your data that has already been performed or published prior to our receipt of your request will not be reversed, undone, or withdrawn.”

However, once a 23andMe account is closed, any spit samples that a person initially gave consent to be stored “will be discarded,” the company said.

Baxter Dmitry

Baxter Dmitry

Baxter Dmitry is a writer at The People's Voice. He covers politics, business and entertainment. Speaking truth to power since he learned to talk, Baxter has travelled in over 80 countries and won arguments in every single one. Live without fear.
Email: baxter@thepeoplesvoice.tv
Baxter Dmitry

6 Comments

  1. 23 and Me is coowned by the founder of Google……….they are married.

    What if………………..someone is related to Einstein???? what can they do with your DNA ??!!

    Thanks to FB, Twitter, Amazon, Google, You Tube……….they know everything about you…even your psychol profile.

    Imagine a world of CLONES………………..!!

    Ancestry is also in the biz.

    THIS HAS TO BE STOPPED AND DESTROYED.

    • Right, and if you don’t think Alex Jones is doing a good job as a zionist gatekeeper, read yournewswire. Otherwise, try Unz Review.

  2. Anyone who gives up a DNA sample willingly is a complete idiot and should suffer the negative affects of doing that. Did anyone actually think these companies would keep the samples private.

    • WHy would anyone have cause to suspect their DNA would be sold? People don’t usually think like that, they have many other things on their mind. I wish people would stop and think more. However, what you need to know is that DNA is being collected and sold everywhere. For example, if you go to the doctor, he wants to do lab work for you so he can diagnose your illness. Your DNA is collected by the lab and sold to whoever pays $. For one thing, they can match your DNA to someone who needs a new organ and bingo, there you are, targeted for organ removal without your consent. Often, organs are removed while you are still alive, with no anesthesia. This has been happening for quite awhile. These people have no moral compass and will do anything to make a quick buck and there’s alot of $ involved in organ trafficking. That’s just one thing they can do to you. I don’t think ANYONE deserves to have this done and I wonder about your ethics in wishing this on unsuspecting people, who DO NOT deserve this kind of fate.

      • Your doctor does “NOT” take a DNA sample for lab work. Your blood is sent to the lab. Big difference. Also the doctor is not allowed to give your blood or DNA to an outside source without your consent. These DNA testing companies do not have the same restrictions. They routinely sell them or turn them over to the government. You need to take the blinders off.

  3. Looks like link won’t fly. So you’d need to use ’23andMe’, ‘DNA Lab Tour’ to see for yourselves how process works for Privacy!

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