{"id":1252,"date":"2016-05-19T10:32:44","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T10:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/?p=1252"},"modified":"2023-10-12T10:41:37","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T05:11:37","slug":"touching-a-billion-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/touching-a-billion-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Touching a Billion Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"billionlives\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When the Digital India initiative took off, one of the most intriguing ideas that I read was about touching a billion lives with genomics. In addition to the magnitude of the number, the route to do this was fascinating. In the days of wearable technologies with smart sensors and socialized healthcare, where does genomics figure? How can a technology that is taking baby steps in the market aim so big?<\/p>\n

Anu Acharya, founder and CEO of Mapmygenome, gives a new meaning to thinking out of the box. In 2013, when the idea was still in nascent stages and there was hardly any market for DNA-based predictive tests, she founded Mapmygenome, India\u2019s pioneering personal genomics company. Their flagship test, Genomepatri, offers a comprehensive health profile covering 100+ conditions and traits relevant to the smooth functioning of the human body and responses to several key drugs. They promise a simple, non-invasive, once-in-a-lifetime route to better health. In the last two years, the company has seen rapid growth in terms of product line, sales, funding, and channel partners.<\/p>\n

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Key differentiators<\/h2>\n

Expertise:\u00a0 There are few genomics companies apart from Mapmygenome that can claim 15+ years of expertise in the domain. An expertise gained from her first foray into entrepreneurship through Ocimum Biosolutions, which has been offering genomics research to life sciences, healthcare, biotech and pharma R&D companies across the globe. Adding to this expertise is their access to gold standard databases such as BioExpress and tools such as ASCENTA.<\/p>\n

Introducing positivity to health: Traditionally, healthcare has been perceived as a scary domain. From weight management to cancer, every aspect of health is fraught with psychological costs. With focus on healthy habits, Mapmygenome gives health a positive touch. In addition to finding health risks, they offer solutions to mitigate these risks.<\/p>\n

Genetic counseling: Understanding genes is not easy, unless you have an educational degree in that field. Even the experts cannot claim knowledge to all the genes, their sequences, and variants. A genetic counselor is a specialized and certified expert when it comes to genes and health. They correlate health history with report findings and make things clear for the customers. Typically, there is a one-hour genetic counseling session once a client receives the Genomepatri report.<\/p>\n

Value for money: Genetics, being a new technology, no doubt appears to be an expensive route to health. However, considering the expenses involved in diagnosis and treatment as well as the benefits of prevention and early detection, we can safely say that these genomic tests<\/a><\/span> provide value for money.<\/p>\n

The Road to Billion<\/h2>\n

Healthcare is currently seeing a paradigm shift from physician-centric to individual-centric approach. Individuals are becoming proactive about their health and taking preventive measures due to many reasons such as increased education and awareness, health social networks, mobile health apps<\/a><\/span>, etc. This is fertile ground for technologies like Genomepatri to grow to their maximum potential.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sugata Sanyal\u00a0is a Honorary Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. He is Member, School of Computing and Informatics\u2019 \u201cBrain Trust\u201d, University of Louisiana\u00a0at Lafayette, USA. He is also a Distinguished Scientific Consultant at the International Research Group \u2013 Study of Intelligence of Biological & Artificial Complex Systems, Bucharest, Romania. He is an Innovation Mentor, TotalStart Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Developers. He has served as Research Advisor, CTO, Tata Consultancy Services, India (2012-2015) and Adjunct Professor: Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (2013-2014). He was Professor at School of Technology & Computer Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (1973-2012)<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/sanyalsugata<\/em><\/p>\n

My sincere thanks to Anu Acharya\u00a0and all her colleagues at\u00a0Mapmygenome.<\/p>\n

Mapmygenome, on its part, is focused on its vision and is heading towards the goal with strategic partnerships and other activities. The road may be tough, but not impossible.
\nAnd they are reaching it, slowly. Hats off to them!<\/p>\n

Source:-<\/strong>\u00a0MapMyGenome<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n