Dive Brief:
- 23andMe, the Google Ventures-backed personal genetics firm, has struck a deal with Genentech in order to research new treatments for Parkinson's disease.
- SFGate reports that Genentech will sequence approximately 3,000 Parkinson's patients' whole genomes in 23andMe's database. This genetic data will then be used in order to research new treatment options for Parkinson's.
- The full financial details surrounding the deal aren't clear, but Genentech will pay 23andMe $10 million upfront and may pay as much as $50 million in milestone payments.
Dive Insight:
This isn't the only deal that the genetics upstart 23andMe is going to be pursuing this year. A company spokesperson told SFGate that the firm would be striking about eight new deals with a variety of major biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
In addition to being an exciting partnership and a harbinger of the biopharma industry's increasing interest in the promising genetics and genomics field, there's also a bit of a personal twist to this story: 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki's husband, Sergey Brin, has a genetic mutation that's been associated with Parkinson's. Brin discovered the mutation from a 23andMe test.