Following a monthslong battle over CEO Anne Wojcicki’s plans to take 23andMe personal, all seven impartial members of its board resigned en masse Tuesday.
The transfer is sort of actually the ultimate nail within the coffin for the embattled firm identified for its mail-order DNA-testing package. Since going public through merger with a particular goal acquisition firm (SPAC) in 2021, 23andMe has by no means turned a revenue. Its value on IPO day was $10; up to now in 2024, it has but to succeed in a $1 valuation. Following the resignation of all its impartial administrators Tuesday, the inventory fell to its all-time low: $0.30. (As of noon Wednesday, it’s again to $0.36.)
The board consists of Sequoia Capital’s Roelof Botha in addition to Neal Mohan, who took the helm as CEO of YouTube final 12 months after Susan Wojcicki, Anne’s late sister, stepped down.
“After months of labor, now we have but to obtain from you a completely financed, absolutely diligenced, actionable proposal that’s in the most effective pursuits of the non-affiliated shareholders,” Botha, Mohan et al wrote in a letter addressed to Wojcicki. “Whereas we proceed to wholeheartedly assist the Firm’s mission and consider deeply within the worth of the customized well being and wellness providing that you’ve got articulated, it’s also clear that we differ on the strategic course for the Firm going ahead.”
As a result of that distinction—and the truth that Wojcicki controls 49% of 23andMe votes—they resigned. Wojcicki is now the one board member left.
In an inside memo Wojcicki circulated shortly after the mass resignation, she mentioned the choice left her “shocked and dissatisfied.” However regardless of the stress, she’s bullish on taking the corporate personal, saying it’s “nonetheless the most effective plan for the corporate.” She’s now “instantly” on the hunt for brand spanking new impartial administrators who assist that plan, and mentioned extra updates would observe on Thursday.
The corporate has been flailing this 12 months. Final month, in a latest bid for money, it started writing prescriptions for GLP-1 weight reduction medication like Ozempic and Wegovy by way of its telehealth subsidiary, Lemonaid Well being.
It’s not sufficient. DNA take a look at gross sales have dropped off, a analysis collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline concluded final 12 months, and a latest information breach impacted practically 7 million prospects, which led to a rush of lawsuits and a $30 million settlement. As soon as valued at $3.5 billion, 23andMe’s market cap now hovers under $200 million.
Nonetheless, the drug improvement and genetic sequencing that the agency has been throwing its weight behind will finally bear fruit, Wojcicki advised CNN in February. “The imaginative and prescient and the place we’re going is strong, however the path to get there’s extra turbulent.” Sadly, the board is not prepared to remain the course.