Anne Wojcicki’s Quest to Put People in Charge of Their Own Health

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Wojcicki (pronounced wo-JIT-ski) made it her mission to upend health care. In 2006, she co-founded 23andMe, a Silicon Valley company out to pool the world’s DNA, give individuals access to their genetics, and in the process transform the way drugs are made, diseases are cured and patients are treated. In that crowd is her husband, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who learned from 23andMe that he has a genetic mutation putting him at high risk for Parkinson’s disease.

“To be able to answer thousands and thousands of questions,” she said, “you want tons and tons of data.”

So far, 23andMe has attracted nearly 1 million customers and more than $126 million in venture capital, making it one of the most hyped health-technology firms in the world — and its CEO one of the most influential women in tech.

But not everyone thinks Wojcicki should be the one to collect their data...

“They’ve had a very intense marketing campaign that’s made a lot of bold claims, both about the...