23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki Announces Major Restructuring with 40% Workforce Reduction and Shift Away from Therapeutics

12 November 2024 | Tuesday | News

Anne Wojcicki outlines strategic overhaul to focus on core consumer genetics business, cutting over 200 jobs and halting therapeutics development. The move aims for $35 million in annualized cost savings as the company explores strategic options for its clinical assets.
23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki

23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki

Reduces workforce by roughly 40%; expects annualized cost savings of more than $35 million

Discontinues development of therapeutics division and commences strategic alternatives process for all in-house therapeutic programs

23andMe Holding Co. , a leading human genetics and preventive health company, today announced a business restructuring to streamline operations and reduce costs. In addition, 23andMe is discontinuing further development of all its therapeutics programs, while evaluating strategic alternatives for its clinical and preclinical assets.

The Company is reducing its overall headcount by over 200 employees, representing approximately 40% of the workforce. The business restructuring is expected to substantially reduce operating expenses and result in annualized cost savings of more than $35 million. The Company expects to incur up to $12 million in costs and expenses primarily related to one-time severance, transition and termination-related costs.

“We are taking these difficult but necessary actions as we restructure 23andMe and focus on the long-term success of our core consumer business and research partnerships,” said Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe’s CEO, Co-Founder, and Chair of the Board. “I want to thank our team for their hard work and dedication to our mission. We are fully committed to supporting the employees impacted by this transition.”

Strategic Alternatives Process for Therapeutics Programs

In parallel with the discontinuation of its therapeutics division, the Company is actively exploring all strategic options for a limited time to maximize the value of its therapeutics programs, including licensing agreements, asset sales or other transactions. 23andMe intends to wind-down its ongoing clinical trials as quickly as practical, while the strategic alternatives process is ongoing.

“We continue to believe in the promise shown by our clinical and preclinical stage pipeline and will continue to pursue strategic opportunities to continue their development. We remain deeply grateful to the patients, investigators and study staff for their participation in our clinical trials,” said Wojcicki.

The Company’s therapeutic programs include 23ME-00610 (a Phase 1/2a therapeutic antibody that is designed to restore the immune system’s ability to kill cancer cells by blocking the immune checkpoint CD200R1), 23ME-01473 (a Phase 1 therapeutic antibody that targets ULBP6, which can be expressed and secreted by tumor cells to suppress immune activity), and other preclinical immunology and inflammation programs. 23ME-00610 has demonstrated early monotherapy responses, potential patient selection biomarkers, and combination potential for patients across multiple difficult-to-treat solid tumors and 23ME-01473 has yielded promising preclinical data with a novel NK-cell-activating mechanism.

There can be no assurance that the strategic alternatives process for the therapeutics assets will result in any course of action and there is no definitive timeline for completion.

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