23andMe and Genentech in deal to research Parkinson’s treatments

Anne Wojcicki, is the co-founder and CEO of genetics-testing startup 23andMe. Anne Wojcicki, is the co-founder and CEO of genetics-testing startup 23andMe. Photo: Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle Photo: Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 23andMe and Genentech in deal to research Parkinson’s treatments 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Personal genetics-testing startup 23andMe is teaming up with Genentech to try to identify new treatments for Parkinson’s disease, the companies announced Tuesday, the first of several deals 23andMe is expected to strike with major pharmaceutical companies this year.

Under the deal, Genentech will sequence the whole genomes of about 3,000 people with Parkinson’s disease in 23andMe’s database, and use that data to look for new therapeutic targets that could treat the neurodegenerative condition. The companies did not disclose financial terms, but a spokeswoman confirmed that 23andMe will receive $10 million initially and up to $50 million in future milestones.

A spokeswoman said this deal is the first in seven or eight that 23andMe will unveil in the coming months with major pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Fighting Parkinson’s is a special concern of 23andMe’s CEO, Anne Wojcicki. Her husband, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, discovered from a 23andMe test that he carries a genetic mutation associated with higher rates of Parkinson’s, a disease that affects an estimated 1 million people in the United States. It has no cure or treatments that slow the disease, except for some medications that can treat the symptoms. The couple, who are now separated, have donated more than $150 million to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

The deal comes at a critical time for 23andMe, which has gathered and analyzed the DNA of more than 800,000 customers by way of mail-home kits that collect saliva. The company, founded in 2006, was interpreting that data to tell consumers about their ancestral origins and their health. But in late 2013, the Food and Drug Administration ordered 23andMe to stop offering the latter, citing concerns that the information was inaccurate or may lead people to make rash decisions about their health.

That left the venture-backed startup without a significant chunk of its revenue. While it has continued to talk to the FDA about ways to bring back its health service, it has tried to make up for it in the meantime by, for example, launching its health kits in Canada and, more recently, the United Kingdom. And it has previously teamed up with prominent pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, in August, to map the DNA of 10,000 patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

23andMe’s massive stockpile of customer data allows it to generate revenue by way of deals. The company performs genotyping, which involves looking at selective genetic variants with known links to conditions or heritage, but in the new, multiyear collaboration, Genentech plans to sequence patients’ whole genomes, a more comprehensive and time-intensive process, in addition to surveying the group.

That data could help Genentech and its parent company Roche significantly advance their understanding of Parkinson’s. In late 2013, Roche said it would pay Prothena Corp. up to $600 million to work together on antibodies targeting the disease. And in June, Genentech scientists published a study that identified a protein that appears to contribute to the damage of brain cells in Parkinson’s.

After the collaboration, 23andMe said it will be able to do additional research on the data and make the information available to researchers worldwide. Data will only be shared from individuals who have given permission to 23andMe to do so, and the data will be anonymized, the company said.

“23andMe helps individuals with debilitating disease participate in research and make advances happen faster,” Wojcicki said in a statement. “I am thrilled about this partnership and believe this can help accelerate meaningful discoveries for Parkinson’s patients.”

Stephanie M. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: slee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @stephaniemlee