Jul 28, 2018

23AndMe partnering with drug giant Glaxo to design new drugs

GlaxoSmithKline's office. Photo: Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

The results of home DNA testing company 23AndMe will be used by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline to design new drugs, NBC News reports.

The details: 23AndMe users were allowed to opt out of research, NBC reports. The first goal is to design a new drug to treat Parkinson's disease by looking at a gene called LRRK2. 23AndMe CEO Anne Wojcicki said in a blog post about the companies' collaboration: "By working with GSK, we believe we will accelerate the development of breakthroughs."

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Kia Kokalitcheva

24 mins ago - Economy & Business

HBCUs are missing from the discussion on venture capital's diversity

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Venture capital is beginning a belated conversation about its dearth of black investors and support of black founders, but hasn't yet turned its attention to the trivial participation of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as limited partners in funds.

Why it matters: This increases educational and economic inequality, as the vast majority of VC profits go to limited partners.

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Courtenay Brown

1 hour ago - Economy & Business

Unemployment rate falls to 13.3% in May

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Axios Visuals

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 13.3% in May, with 2.5 million jobs gained, the government said on Friday.

Why it matters: The far better-than-expected numbers show a surprising improvement in the job market, which has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Dion Rabouin

2 hours ago - Economy & Business

The difficulty of calculating the real unemployment rate

Data: U.S. Department of Labor; Note: Initial traditional state claims from the weeks of May 23 and 30, continuing traditional claims from May 23. Initial PUA claims from May 16, 23, and 30, continuing PUA and other programs from May 16; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The shocking May jobs report — with a decline in the unemployment rate to 13.3% and more than 2 million jobs added — destroyed expectations of a much worse economic picture.

Why it matters: Traditional economic reports have failed to keep up with the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic and have made it nearly impossible for researchers to determine the state of the U.S. labor market or the economy.

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