Cambridge, MA-based Segterra was founded in 2009 and offers personalized nutrition support based on blood tests of 41 select biomarkers. The company launched its InsideTracker testing and analytics kits service to consumers in 2013. While healthcare professionals use blood tests to assess if you have normal or abnormal values, InsideTracker is interested in optimal levels.
The company was founded by Gil Blander, PhD, who spent five years at MIT after 10 years at the Weizmann Institute and has done extensive research into biological markers in the blood. The company's scientific advisory board reads like a who’s who of the best researchers of nutrition and aging in the US, including Prof David Sinclair from Harvard Medical School, Prof Jeff Blumberg from Tufts University, Prof Lenny Guarente from MIT, and Prof Roger Fielding from Tufts University.
Commenting on the collaboration with BASF, Rony Sellam, Segterra’s CEO, said: “The alignment of mission between our two companies has served as a powerful guide for our collaboration. At a time when people have access to a plethora of personal biometric data but very little actionable guidance on how to best put that data to use, InsideTracker was created to empower the personalized nutrition revolution.”
“Cultivating an ecosystem that delivers personalized nutrition to end-consumers”
“We are committed to building collaborations that empower us to tap into consumer demands and deliver the right nutrients to the right people at the right time, using Newtrition science-based competencies,” said Simon Strauch, Director Global Marketing, BASF Human Nutrition.
The collaboration will cultivate an ecosystem that delivers personalized nutrition to end-consumers seeking to achieve their individual health goals with data-driven recommendations, said the companies in a joint press release. It also offers the opportunity for BASF to improve its insights on consumer needs and, accordingly, develop appropriate solutions for the market under the Newtrition brand.
“The collaboration with InsideTracker presents an opportunity to invite our customers to join the ecosystem and together create valuable advancements for the future of nutrition.” said François Scheffler, who heads BASF’s Global Human Nutrition and Pharma Solutions Businesses.
"The time has come for personalized nutrition"
Speaking with NutraIngredients-USA recently, John Helfrick, Director, BASF Human Nutrition, said: “Personalized nutrition is very important to BASF Newtrition because it provides an innovation platform for the company as well as our customers to help people live healthier, longer lives. It’s a great opportunity but it’s also more of a mandate than an option as we evolve from a one-size fits all society. We take a scientific approach to create high quality ingredients to help tackle the challenges of human nutrition and meet the ever-changing nutritional lifestyles.
“The science of nutritional products is advancing in parallel to the rise of activity trackers, diagnostics, analytics and other technologies. With these components in place and interest in wellbeing and longevity on the rise, the time has come for personalized nutrition.”