** Shares of drugmaker Regeneron Pharmaceuticals REGN.O rise 2% to $606 premarket

** REGN says it has agreed to buy bankrupt genetic testing firm 23andMe Holding for $256 million

** The agreement excludes the purchase of 23andMe's telehealth service Lemonaid Health

** 23andMe's bankruptcy proceedings had drawn scrutiny from lawmakers who warned that genetic data of millions of customers could be sold to unscrupulous buyers

** Regeneron says it will comply with 23andMe's privacy policies and applicable laws with respect to the use of customer data and that it is ready to detail its intended use of the data to a court-appointed overseer

** As of last close, REGN down 16.6% YTD

(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole)

((siddhi.mahatole@thomsonreuters.com))