GSK, 23andMe to launch first clinical trial this year

Jan. 20, 2020

GlaxoSmithKline, in partnership with consumer genetics testing company 23andMe, plans to select its first drug target and launch a clinical trial by the end of 2020.

23andMe announced in July 2018 that GSK purchased a $300 million stake in the company, allowing the drugmaker to use 23andMe’s genetic data to develop new drugs.

According to GSK CEO Emma Walmsley, the deal is based on the premise that genetically validated targets have a higher probability of leading to successful medicines. And with 80 percent of 23andMe's 10 million customers volunteering to participate in research, the database is vast.

The two partners have not yet revealed the disease the first drug will be designed to treat.

Last week, 23andMe announced that it has licensed a drug it developed internally to treat inflammatory diseases to Spanish pharmaceutical company, Almirall. 

Read the Financial Times coverage