23andMe is using your saliva to cure diseases (and make money)
Selling search data is so 2019... That's why 23andMe is capitalizing on your DNA instead. The genetic testing unicorn first helped you find your long-lost cousin from Angola. Now it's sold the rights to a psoriasis drug it developed using its very own genetic database.
- Old News: 23andMe sold access to its users' DNA to GlaxoSmithKlein in 2018 — GSK uses it to research and develop their own medicines.
- New News: For the first time, 23andMe developed and licensed a drug itself, thanks to research made possible by its giant set of saliva samples — the buyer is Spanish pharma company, Almirall.
- Key News: 10M customers have sent 23andMe their saliva in a tube to get their DNA analyzed — and 80% of them opted-in to participate in research (without gaining any financial benefit).
You are the product... literally. 23andMe makes money selling DNA kits ($99-$199), selling its DNA data to a pharma company, and now also by developing (and selling) its own drugs. All these money moves involve your DNA, which you're paying them to give them.
23andFree?... What if 23andMe made its core product (DNA ancestry kits) free instead? That would probably add millions of new customers, leading to more genetic info... which could lead to more drugs developed from all that extra research. That would make 23andMe look more like Facebook — it's free, but Facebook (and Insta) use your data to deliver you targeted ads. That's how FB makes $$$.