California Appeals 23andMe Genetic Data Sale in Bankruptcy Case

The state of California appealed a bankruptcy court order approving the $305 million sale of 23andMe’s genetic data assets.

California filed its notice of appeal Thursday with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, seeking a review of US Bankruptcy Judge Brian C. Walsh’s June 27 decision authorizing the sale to the nonprofit TTAM Research Institute, in partnership with the DNA testing firm’s co-founder, Anne Wojcicki.

Walsh signed off on the transaction despite objections from a court-appointed privacy ombudsman and several states, including California.

The California Department of Justice said earlier this week that the approval didn’t comply with state law and that it was reviewing next steps to protect residents’ data.

The state has argued that its Genetic Information Privacy Act prohibits the transfer or disclosure of genetic data or biological samples without express consent, including transfers to a “third party.”

Walsh concluded that because 23andMe’s assets would be transferred to a subsidiary before the sale to TTAM, it wasn’t considered a third party, meaning separate consent wasn’t required. He determined that the second step of the transaction—in which the subsidiary sells the assets to TTAM—also didn’t require separate consent, as the statutes don’t prohibit or restrict changes in ownership.

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison and Carmody MacDonald PC represent 23andMe. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP represent TTAM.

The case is 23andMe Holding Co., Bankr. E.D. Mo., No. 25-40976, 7/3/25.