Indians are turning to genetics to assess likelihood of falling

• Posted by Sindhuri G August 30, 2012 - Filed in Business - 2,037 views

  BANGALORE: Juggling a hectic career as a software professional with the demands of bringing up her child left Deepa (second name withheld to protect identity) with little time for personal health concerns, until the day a colleague at work collapsed due to a heart attack. Deeply disturbed by the incident, she was determined to find out the chances of suffering a similar fate.

  "I used to spend 8-10 hours in front of the computer, and after this incident I realised that tracking my own health risk was crucial," says the 34-year-old, who set about trying to find an affordable personal genomic assessment.
  
  Her search led to Xcode, a Chennai-based startup that genetically tests saliva to determine a person's tendency to develop certain illnesses and suggest preventive healthcare measures. After her screening, Deepa was given a customised exercise regimen and told to follow a diet best suited for her genetic type.
  
  A similar customised solution was offered to 34-year-old marketing consultant Aryan, who was keen to protect himself from the ravages of a work schedule that included constant travel and poor eating habits. Aryan's wakeup call was his father's stroke, which made him reflect on his own unhealthy lifestyle and the possible remedies.
  
  Both Deepa and Aryan are part of a small but growing number of Indians having their genetic makeup mapped through a simple test that costs less than Rs 10,000. They are turning to genetics to assess the likelihood of falling victim to a range of conditions from diabetes and cardiac disease to baldness and obesity.

  

  
  "In future, the technology even has potential for detecting indicators of personal traits like impulsive shopping, addiction and having a strong liking for those red Jimmy Choo stilettos," says Saleem Mohammed, co-founder of Xcode Life Sciences.
  
  Xcode, set up in 2010, combines genetic assessment with a personalised healthcare regimen for its clients, based on test results.
  
  "This differentiates us from other similar service providers who map a person's preponderance to a specific disease type alone," says Mohammed, who trained at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before he returned to India and found that his mother had developed diabetes.
  
  Realising that illnesses could be predicted and managed better, Mohammed, who was working at multinational seed firm Monsanto, decided to quit his job and build a technology startup in the personal genomics space. He approached the Vellore Institute of Technology to incubate his idea and was introduced to R Narayanan, an angel investor who backed the fledgling venture with seed money of $250,000 (Rs 1.4 crore).
  
  "This is an opportunity in the direct-to-consumer space and is a totally scalable business" says Narayanan, who has been a senior executive at Coca-Cola and Nestle.
  
  Xcode, which was incubated for two years, launched its services last month and has already bagged over 50 customers, mainly in the age group of 25-55 years.