Xcode's genetic assessment business for a healthier life

Actress Angelina Jolie's decision to undergo double mastectomy after testing positive for the BRCA1 mutation threw some light on the nascent gene testing industry.

Back in India, 34-year-old Saleem Mohammed, a Bioinformatics scientist, aims to empower people with the knowledge about their genes and help them modify their lifestyle in hope of leading a healthier life.
Mohammed returned from US after pursuing his PhD in Bioinformatics and founded his venture Xcode Life Sciences in 2010 at Chennai. It offers genetic assessment through a Lifelong Wellness kit which can determine individual’s risk to chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, strokes and cardiovascular problems and their metabolic profile. Using this information the Xcode team draws up a personalised nutrition and fitness plan to delay and prevent the onset of the disease. Also read: Perennial problem of underinsurance in India
The kit can be ordered for Rs 11,000 and will be delivered at the doorstep via the company’s logistic partners FedEx and Blue Dart. The saliva sample holds the key to an individual’s genetic code and a detailed analysis of this laboratory ensures that in four-six week a report that contains your risk to disease, metabolic profile and customise plan to prevent or delay the onset of chronic illnesses is generated.
Having reached 100 customers so far and with plans to reach 5,000 more by the end of the year, Mohammed says that gene testing is a big leap in preventive healthcare.
Mohammed added, “What we need in this segment is something that people can use it as a predictive step as well as a preventive angle and the best way to do this is through genetics that is through the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) because DNA is a core to that individual.”
Xcode has seen investor interest with the government’s department of science and technology investing Rs 6.25 lakh followed by two rounds of angel funding and a seed round taking the total to Rs 2 crore. Having allocated the funds for marketing and research and development (R&D) this team of 16 is on the look out for further venture capital (VC) funding and hopes to breakeven by 2015
Mohammed is looking to open up other revenue streams and will soon pedal his way into the anti-ageing highway, kicking expansion plans into high gear Xcode Life Sciences will also invest in cancer research.
Mohammed is planning to target corporates as his prime audience for health-related factors. He said, "We believe that we can make an impact in the corporate sector. We are also talking to several pathology labs where people are aware that they have to take a master health check up every year."
Mohammed's long-term vision is to discover genetic causes of chronic illnesses and to set the standard for genome mapping in the Indian subcontinent.