23andMe is a privately held personal genomics and biotechnology company based in Mountain View, California^[1] that provides rapid genetic testing. The company is named for the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a normal human cell. Their personal genome test kit was named "Invention of the Year" by Time magazine in 2008.^[2]

Founding[link]

The company was founded by Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki after both recognized the need for a way to organize and study genetic data, the possibility for individual consumers to use the information and the need for expertise to interpret the results.^[3]

The company's co-founder Linda Avey left the company in 2009 and has co-founded a new start-up, Curious, Inc.

Services[link]

23andMe began offering DNA testing services in November, 2007, the results of which are posted online and allow an assessment of inherited traits, genealogy and possible congenital risk factors.^[4] Customers provide a 2.5 mL sample which is analyzed on a DNA microarray of Illumina, for 960,000 specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). An eventual goal is to provide whole genome sequencing.^[3] In June 2011, 23andMe announced it had accumulated a database of more than 100,000 individuals.^[5] The organization also provides testing for certain research initiatives^[6] providing confidential customer datasets to, and partnering with research foundations with a goal of establishing genetic associations with specific illnesses and disorders.^[3]

An analysis of the results of research on Parkinson's disease comparing 23andMe with a National Institutes of Health initiative suggested that the company's use of large amounts of computational power and data sets might offer comparable results, though in much less time.^[7]

In 2008, Time magazine named the company's saliva-based DNA-testing service "Invention of the Year". The service and ability to map significant portions of the genome has raised controversial questions including whether the results can be meaningfully interpreted, and if they will lead to genetic discrimination. The states of New York and California unsuccessfully attempted to block the tests (provided by 23andMe as well as other companies) under the grounds that they were not properly licensed^[2] and attempted to require tests to be conducted only when ordered by a physician.^[8][9] By August 2008, 23andMe had received licenses that allow them to continue to do business in California.^[10]

Investment[link]

Linda Avey, co-founder

In 2007 Google, whose co-founder Sergey Brin is married to the co-founder of 23andMe Anne Wojcicki, invested $3,900,000 in the company, along with Genentech, New Enterprise Associates and Mohr Davidow Ventures.^[11]

See also[link]

• Genetic testing
• Single-nucleotide polymorphism
• Maps of American ancestries
• Personal genomics
• Pharmacogenomics
• Genetic counseling
• Genomic counseling

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

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Anne E. Wojcicki ( /woʊˈdʒɪtski/ woh-JIT-skee; born July 28, 1973)^[1] is a biotech analyst, biologist, and the co-founder of 23andMe.

Wojcicki is the daughter of Esther Wojcicki, a Jewish American educator, and Stanley Wojcicki, a Polish American physics professor at Stanford University. She attended Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California, where she was one of three students voted Most Likely to Succeed in the 1991 yearbook.^[2] She went on to graduate from Yale University with a B.S. in biology in 1996.^[3]

After graduating, Wojcicki worked 10 years overseeing healthcare investments, focusing on biotechnology companies. In 2006, she left the investing world to co-found 23andMe with Linda Avey.^[4]

Wojcicki married Google co-founder Sergey Brin in May 2007. They have a son, Benji, born in December 2008.

References[link]

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