There are 23 pairs of human chromosomes. Decoding them might only be worth 40 cents per share. 23andMe was once a high-flying consumer healthcare start-up, with admirable DNA itself. The founder, Anne Wojcicki, is part of a prominent Silicon Valley family and herself is a longtime healthcare investor. The company’s backers include Wojcicki’s former husband, Sergey Brin, the Google co-founder. Other large investors are Richard Branson and GSK.
But after listing its shares at a $4.5bn equity valuation, through Branson’s Spac, its market capitalisation is now below $180mn. Wojcicki is attempting to take 23andMe private at just 40 cents per share. It is an extraordinary achievement that a simple saliva sample returned by post can now be transformed into a detailed genetic test. But the barrier still to be broken is that of a viable business.
