Business Fortune
Genetica® is a biotech enterprise offering AI-driven genetic testing solutions. The company was established in 2017 and uses DNA analysis and decoding to assist with disease prevention, customized nutrition, and child development planning. Scientists from the top universities in the world, such as UCSF, Harvard, Stanford, and Cornell, support Genetica®. Silicon Valley's most astute technology investors have taken notice of the company, which has its own technology and was founded by these eminent scientists and administrators. Genetica® wants to service customers all throughout the United States, and it already has a significant presence in Southeast Asia (Singapore and Vietnam).
The Chief Technology Officer of Genetica, Cao Anh Tuan, was contacted by Business Fortune and spoke with her at the company's San Francisco headquarters. These are his words.
Interview Highlights
As one of the fastest-growing direct-to-consumer gene-testing technology companies in the region, Genetica®, what special advantages can it offer the Asian population as it moves toward the inevitable advancements of individualized preventative care and precision medicine?
Thermo Fisher, a global leader in gene testing, has acknowledged that our patented gene decoding chips are among the most effective at decoding Asian genomes. Nearly 100,000 Asian users have trusted Genetica® with their services since the end of 2018.
The number of genome-wide substantial risk variants for examined traits or health disorders that are highly associated with the populations should be increased because every genetic test is restricted by the variants being tested. The major issue among genetic testing companies in Asia is that the genomic database largely concentrates on the Caucasian genome. This Eurocentric bias means that any other ethnicity, notably Asian, does not profit as much from improvements in genomic investigations.
Use atorvastatin as an illustration. This statin medication is used to treat hyperlipidemia and avoid cardiovascular problems. Due to a mutation in the TIMD4 gene, it was discovered that patients of Asian heritage respond to atorvastatin more quickly than patients of Caucasian descent. For this reason, a smaller dosage of atorvastatin is needed for the former. Eligibility criteria were created at Genetica®, put to use in evaluating the chosen variations, and then merged in a way specific to Asian genetic testing.
One of the very few companies offering genetic testing that has created its own patent-pending gene decoding technology is Genetica®. Furthermore, Genetica® has been collaborating with some of the top global providers of genetic testing, including Illumina and Thermofisher. Because of the way our gene decoding chip was designed, it will get better with time and become more advanced the more genetic data Genetica® gathers.
Not to mention, Genetica® Lab satisfies the most exacting certification requirements for genetic testing laboratories in the US: CLIA and CAP.
Using genetic sequencing, Genetica® offers four sets of services: 1) Create plans for your child's upbringing and education; 2) Customize your exercise and dietary habits; 3) Determine your risk of genetic diseases (diabetes, stroke, allergies, and viral infections); and 4) Screen for 20 common hereditary cancers that affect Asians.
What information can you provide on the cutting-edge technology platform that Genetica has in place?
With the goal of creating a genetic platform that would enable personalized treatment and other applications aimed at underprivileged people, particularly Asians, Genetica® has developed ground-breaking technology based on three essential technologies:
Gene-decoding Technology: In close cooperation with Illumina® and Thermo Fisher, we created an Asian-specific polygenic decoder chip that satisfies HIPAA security regulations and has been recognized by Illumina with >99 percent accuracy. Every sample and genetic information about users is secured and anonymized.
AI technology: By merging more data and the findings of earlier genetic research, it will help diagnose patients more correctly and increase productivity. Therefore, by examining hundreds of genes from the customers' genome, our reports offer detailed information about a person's innate potentials, behavioral patterns, and health-related dangers.
Collaboration with the international blockchain network Oasis Lab: This enhances precision medicine, protects 100,000 genomic data profiles for privacy-preserving treatment, and gives our consumers complete ownership and management over their genetic data.
Which areas are you concentrating on?
Our main goal is to open the path for the development of precision medicine and individualized healthcare. In many businesses, the irreversible trend towards "personalize, predict, and prevent" has been sparked by genetic data.
The immediate impact includes offering our consumers comprehensive genetic information to help them create personalized diet and exercise routines, as well as proactive health measures like promptly alerting them to their hereditary risk of 18 major malignancies in Asia. Our assessments are designed to help parents plan their kids's education and to improve child care for the younger population.
Nevertheless, the fact that less than 1% of people worldwide have had their DNA sequenced makes the accessibility issue of today extremely serious. Furthermore, almost 78% of individuals involved in genome-wide association studies are European in origin. This means that genetic discoveries that might otherwise be commonplace for everyone are out of reach for most ethnic groups in the world.
In order to advance the development of solutions for personalized healthcare and precision medicine, our goal is to provide the genomics data economy—where we will tokenize our users' data ownership and enable them to own, contribute, and earn from their participation in endeavors—to researchers and entrepreneurs.
By utilizing the convergence of three pillars of our core technology—blockchain, AI, and a proprietary gene decoding chip—we can empower billions of people to participate in the healthcare of the future.
How knowledgeable is the Genetica® expert team? And what benefits do they offer the business?
We have some of the top science and technology teams in the Bay Area. The majority of them are specialists from Harvard Medical School, Cornell University, Stanford University, and UCSF. Since our establishment, we have focused on developing cutting-edge technology and expanded as a business to partner with Thermofisher and Illumina to create our own unique method of decoding Asian genomes.
Important contributions have also been made by well-known individuals who advise us. These individuals include Roy Perlis, M.D., M. Sc., who is the director of the Center for Quantitative Health at Massachusetts General Hospital; Benjamine Ma, M.D., who is the vice president of adult clinical operations and the director of shoulder services and sports medicine at the University of California, San Francisco; and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Leadership | Genetica®
Cao Anh Tuan, co-founder, serves as Chief Technology Officer of Genetica®.
