Longevity company Viome Life Sciences just announced the acquisition of Naring Health, a digital health and wellness company providing access to individualized clinical and molecular data to empower informed decisions. DiscernDX, which falls under Naring Health, will also be acquired by Viome. DiscernDX is a company that assists with regular health monitoring, early disease detection and personalized care.
Since its launch in 2016, Viome has mapped users' unique nutritional requirements using mRNA data analysis and AI technology. From there, the company offers personalized health insights along with precision supplements, probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics. With the new acquisition, Viome said it’s taking a monumental leap forward in making its nutrition recommendations even more precise.
"Groundbreaking era"
"We're entering a groundbreaking era of precision health, an era where every individual has the power to manage their unique nutritional needs effectively,” said Viome founder & CEO Naveen Jain. "By acquiring entities whose visions align and complement ours, such as Naring Health, we’re advancing our commitment to making unprecedented health insights and actionable solutions increasingly attainable to all and with greater accuracy. We are driven by the goal to transform the paradigm of health through personalized nutrition, unveiling extraordinary insights that hold the key to preventing and reversing chronic diseases using food as medicine.”
By combining resources, Jain said strategic acquisition will usher in a new age of personalized nutrition by granting customers access to comprehensive insights.
“With the addition of Naring’s key patents and intellectual property, Viome has the ability to enhance its suite of personalized health solutions which include food recommendations and personalized product formulas for supplements and biotics, made on demand. By combining Viome’s vast data of the microbial gene expression and human gene expression (the largest gene expression data base in the world) with Naring’s research on proteomics and food bioactives, this strategic acquisition will grant Viome users access to the most comprehensive and precise nutritional insights based on their biochemical individuality. Given Viome's significant impact through personalized recommendations for users battling chronic conditions such as depression and IBS, we believe this acquisition will further amplify our positive influence on user health,” Jain told NutraIngredients-USA.
Predictions
By digitizing the human body and deploying AI, Jain said Viome is at the forefront of change. Looking ahead, he foresees a surge in tailored solutions that involve gene expressions.
“As digitizing human biology becomes more cost effective, the era of generic, one-size-fits-all nutrition and medication will be rendered obsolete. Presently, many widely-used drugs are effective for only 25%-35% of the population, meaning a staggering 65%-75% don't benefit as intended. This paradigm is poised to shift as we personalize treatments based on individual biology, incorporating both microbiome gene and human gene expressions.”
Furthermore, he anticipates the healthcare sector transitioning from a reactive to a proactive stance, due in part to escalating costs of healthcare.
He added that ultimately, his ambition extends to understanding the mechanisms of aging.
“While many emphasize longevity, nutrition tracking, sleep monitoring, and other health-improving applications, Viome's RNA sequencing technology combined with AI provides a dynamic perspective of health as it evolves. It offers users insight into the trajectory of their health, shedding light on whether daily habits and activities are genuinely enhancing longevity. Biological measurements are pivotal in grasping one's evolving health risks and the potential progression of diseases. Monitoring these changes biologically using RNA is crucial to understanding and mitigating current and future health risks,” explained Jain.
Making moves
The Naring acquisition comes off the heels of Viome’s latest funding announcement, in which the company successfully closed its $86.5 million Series C funding round, bringing its total raise to $175 million. Viome additionally expanded into the oral health space with two tests, Oral Health Intelligence Test for consumers, and Oral Health Pro with CancerDetect for dental professionals.
