Leveraging Evexia Diagnostics’ state-of-the-art platform, physicians will have direct access to testing, diagnostic panels and health information they require to assist patients—a move the two hope will make personalized microbiome testing the norm.
"Putting this technology into the hands of clinicians who are translating this information from the bench to the bedside is vitally important," Sunny Jain, founder and chief executive officer of Floré, told NutraIngredients-USA. "More clinical outcome data will be generated in this way, and more lives will be impacted. Our goal is to reach 10,000 clinicians this year and to have more conversations on the importance of whole genome gut microbiome in accessing overall patient health."
The tech
In December 2022, the brand launched Floré Clinical with a continuing goal to partner with clinical professionals and practice models to help consumers get healthier guts. Providers can refer patients to 3-month, 6-month or 12-month gut wellness programs through Floré.
Since then, Jain said practitioners having been helping Floré hone its product and bioinformatics so that GI SereniT, which launched in December of 2023, is a completely differentiated product from what the average consumer has access to.
"It has a faster turnaround, is easy for the practitioner to integrate and saves them the time of having to research supplements as part of their charting efforts," he said.
GI SereniT, Floré’s personalized microbiome mapping technology, offers comprehensive stool analysis via Whole Genome Sequencing. The at-home stool test provides users with clinically relevant information into gut dysbiosis, microbiome diversity, pathogenic bacteria, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), irritable bowel disease (IBD) and more. Once the analysis is done, Floré formulates a personalized probiotic/prebiotic blend based on users’ gut health.
According to Floré, GI SereniT can pinpoint over 25,000 organism species and provide insight into symptoms such as gas, bloating and stomach pain.
"About 15% of the population suffers from unresolved gastrointestinal issues," Jain said. "Leveraging advanced microbiome mapping methods, personalized gut health testing technology like GI SereniT helps people get to the root cause of their health problems faster.
"Enabled by Evexia’s vast network of clinicians and laboratory services, we’re proud to bring these offerings to more people than ever before, and create custom, meaningful solutions that provide lasting effects on patients’ health.”
The hurdles
When it comes to making microbiome analysis the new standard of care, Jain said it comes down to critical mass and clinical utility.
"We need a little more of both to reach the tipping point, but we did observe that more than 15% of the presentations at this year’s Digestive Disease Week (the largest GI-focused conference with GI doctors and researchers) were related to the microbiome," he said. "You probably can’t go to a functional medicine conference today without a presentation about the importance of the microbiome and its impact on overall health."
Looking ahead
"We believe that microbiome testing and bringing together clinical protocols with trained clinicians will fundamentally change the way we view human health,” Jain said. "There is more microbiology influencing our health than we previously thought just a short five years ago."
IPAWC + Probiota Americas
Microbiome diagnostics and the role of the healthcare practitioner will take center stage at the upcoming IPA World Congress + Probiota Americas (June 10 to 12 in Salt Lake City) during a session titled, "The Healthcare Practitioner Opportunity". The program features a presentation by Jessica Simonis from the Life-Space Group (Australia) followed by an extensive panel discussion featuring Dr. Dan Merenstein from Georgetown University; Dr. Chris Oswald from Nestlé Health Science; Dr. Emanuele Chisari from Parvizi Surgical Innovation; and Sandra Saville from the International Probiotics Association.
For more information and to register (there’s still time!), please click HERE.