Do you ever wish to be healthier than you already are? Have you ever thought about reaching the next level by being healthier? During times like this—when COVID-19 is claiming millions of lives—it is obvious to have these thoughts in mind.
If you have a chronic disease, then it is more important to take care and have a second opinion about the best practices to stay healthy, or even a third opinion. Under such circumstances, it is pertinent to strengthen your immune system and boost your health.
While there are many companies providing nutritional supplements, Viome believes in making people healthier in a unique way.
Viome Life Science was founded in 2016 with a mission to make illness optional by predicting and preventing chronic diseases through a deeper understanding of an individual’s biology at a molecular level.
Viome’s singular mission is to ‘make illness optional.’ Viome has built an AI-driven platform that analyzes the interaction between food, the microbiome, and human cells in order to develop precision nutrition to prevent and reverse chronic diseases.
Viome’s Consumer Services provides the industry’s only direct-to-consumer healthcare test that analyzes microbial and human gene expressions (mRNA), with technology exclusively licensed from Los Alamos National Lab, in order to provide people with health insights and nutrition (food recommendations and supplements) they need.
The company’s Health Sciences division focuses on four key initiatives, including prediction, early diagnostics, prognostics, and precision therapeutics to help people live a disease-free life.
With their state-of-the-art artificial intelligence platform, they are able to analyze data from the world’s largest and richest gene expression database in order to identify the root causes of chronic diseases and the mechanisms of action to be able to prevent and reverse these diseases.
Viome Life Sciences is the world’s leading company focused on preventing and reversing chronic disease by identifying microbial biomarkers that are predictive of chronic diseases and adjusting microbial imbalance through precise food recommendations and made-to-order supplements.
Viome’s direct-to-consumer Health Intelligence™ Test analyzes an individual’s microbial and human gene expression in order to provide them with an assessment of key health areas, including Gut Microbiome Health, Cellular Health, Immune System Health, Stress Response Health, and Biological Aging.
These insights make it possible for Viome to create personalized supplements and probiotics that account for the precise nutrients and dosages a person needs to optimize their health. Unlike other supplement companies, each customer gets a unique formula that is made-to-order once his or her results are delivered.
A Strong Foundation
Viome Life Sciences has built a team of world-class clinicians, life scientists, and data scientists to establish the new Health Sciences division. This includes strategic hires such as Dr. Emmanuel Hanon, the former Global Head of Research and Development for GSK’s vaccine group, and Denis Sirringhaus, a former business development executive at Roche and Genentech. They are now joining Dr. Momo Vuyisich (Chief Science Officer), Dr. Guru Banavar (Chief Technology Officer and Head of AI/ML), and Dr. Damon Tanton (Chief Medical Officer) to lead Viome Life Sciences’ research, clinical trials, discovery, and therapeutics efforts.
Viome has recruited members for its Scientific Advisory Board, which include Dr. George Church (Harvard Medical School), Dr. Alessio Fasano (Harvard Medical School), Dr. Sanjiv Chopra (Harvard Medical School), Dr. Emeran Mayer (UCLA), Dr. Andrew McCaullum (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Dr. Salomon Amar (New York Medical College), and Dr. Gilles Guillemin (Macquarie University) to create a firm scientific foundation for its platform that powers both the consumer division and the health science, division.
Additionally, Viome has brought Stanley Lapidus (Founder of Exact Sciences and Cytyc), Dr. Deepak Chopra, MD, Dr. Edward Zuckerberg and Dr. Karen Zuckerberg (Entrepreneurs), Tom Hopper (actor and entrepreneur), and Vishen Lakhiani (Founder of MindValley) to join the Business Advisory Board.
Mission
The dominant medical-healthcare industrial paradigm is rewarded for the management of the symptoms of chronic disease, not prevention or cure. Viome is challenging this paradigm and has already successfully developed over 30 predictive models for Glycaemic response, Obesity, Diabetes, Depression, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Oral Cancer, which represent over 50% of chronic diseases.
It has more than 20 clinical studies in process on the road to developing diagnostics and interventions for those diseases. Viome’s AI platform has been designated a Breakthrough Device by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for early detection of oral cancer and throat cancer.
World Health Organization (WHO) notes that chronic diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Scientists are trying to find a cure for chronic diseases, and recent research demonstrates emphatically that our microbiomes are the real root cause.
Viome has the most advanced tools to study the gut microbiome, oral microbiome, blood transcriptome, and broader human-microbe interactions throughout the body in much greater detail – examining bacteria, viruses, archaea, fungi, and more. The results are reshaping modern medicine.
To pioneer digitization of the human body to generate personalized, dynamic, and precise nutrition recommendations to prevent and reverse chronic diseases, Viome uses metatranscriptomic analysis to identify all species of microorganisms within the microbiome and evaluate their behaviors through RNA or ‘gene expression.’
Metatranscriptomic is the only approach that identifies which microbes are present and also understands what they are doing within each individual – a crucial capability as every single human body interacts uniquely with the same microbes. Viome has the technology to eventually map all of the microbial systems in and on the human body.
Offerings and strengths
Viome offers consumers an at-home Health Intelligence Test, which uses stool and blood samples to analyze an individual’s microbial and human gene expression to provide over 30 unique health scores showing gut microbiome health, biological age, cellular function, immune health, energy levels, and stress response.
It also offers monthly customized supplement plans that include unique formulas tailor-made for everyone based on his or her test results. This is the highest level of precision offered in the supplement industry.
Viome is the industry’s only direct-to-consumer healthcare company that analyzes microbial and human gene expressions (mRNA), with technology exclusively licensed from Los Alamos National Lab, in order to provide individuals with these insights and the nutrition they need.
A Strong leader
Naveen Jain, Founder & CEO of Viome, says, “‘Imagine a world where chronic illness is a matter of choice, not bad luck.’ I said that almost five years ago. I thought, what would life (or the world!) look like if we could prevent and reverse chronic diseases using food as medicine? Five years ago, that was the problem I set out to solve.”
Naveen added that when you publicly make an audacious moonshot claim like that, people around the world come together to help you accomplish it because it is a cause worth dedicating your life to. It is a problem worth solving.
He says, “I publicly made that claim, and some interesting things started to happen. Shortly after, the head of IBM/Watson Research called me and said, “I’ve been working on artificial intelligence for 25 years. If you give me what’s happening inside the human body, I can analyze it and give you everything that people need to do to not be sick.”
Next, he got a call from Dr. Helen Messier, a Ph.D. in microbiology and MD in functional medicine, saying, “I’m working on studying human longevity, but what’s the point of helping people live longer if they’re going to be sick for all of it? I’m going to quit my job and help you make illness optional.”
The last missing piece came when Naveen was visiting the Los Alamos National Lab when Momo Vuyisich walked up to him and said he heard Naveen on TV saying how he wanted to make illness optional.
“He told me, ‘You know, we are working on bio-defense technology right now. We developed it in case someone got a hold of some sort of biological weapon. If that happened, we would need to understand what was making people sick. But with it, we can tell you exactly what is going on inside the human body. You can license this technology and go build that.’ After that, Momo joined Viome as our Chief Science Officer,” Naveen narrated.
Naveen is the author of the award-winning book Moonshots: Creating a World of Abundance. His current moonshot adventures are Viome and Moon Express. As a serial entrepreneur, he previously founded InfoSpace, Intelius, and TalentWise.
Naveen is also the Vice-Chairman of the Board at Singularity University, where he focuses on educating and inspiring leaders to utilize innovative technologies to address humanity’s greatest challenges. He is also on the Board of the XPRIZE Foundation, an organization that uses incentivized prize competition to push the limits of what’s possible — to change the world for the better.
Naveen has been the recipient of many honors for his entrepreneurial successes. These include:
“Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young, “Most Creative Person” by Fast Company, “Top 20 Entrepreneurs” & “Lifetime Achievement Award” for leadership by Red Herring. “Medal of Honor” by Ellis Island, and “Top 50 Philanthropists” by Town & Country Magazine.
Modernizing Healthcare
Viome’s state-of-the-art artificial intelligence platform allows it to sort through massive amounts of data to unlock the patterns in individuals’ unique biology.
“Using our platform, we can identify predictive biomarkers for most chronic diseases, cancers, and aging. These predictive biomarkers give us the hypothesis to do clinical research in order to identify signatures, which we can then use to determine the mechanism of action in order to develop precision therapeutics. The more our engine learns, the more new and old customers benefit from Viome’s service,” Naveen informed.
Viome has pivoted away from just consumer health to become a global healthcare company, developing precision nutrition, precision drugs, and precision vaccines to help people live a disease-free life.
Advice for budding entrepreneurs
For budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into health, Naveen advises, “Healthcare is ripe for disruption as exponential technologies become more and more available to digitize the human body and as we harness our ability to use powerful AI to decode the biochemistry of our biology. The next decade will bring in more innovation to Healthcare than at any time in the history of humanity.”
Thinking ahead
Viome plans to expand its product offering by adding a new test, Whole Body Intelligence, which includes insights about an individual’s oral microbiome and its connection with overall health along with Viome’s current health scores. This test will offer precision nutrition recommendations based on an even more in-depth analysis of a customer’s biology.
Viome recently received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for its oral and throat cancer screening test. Focusing first on Oral and Throat Cancer, two life-threatening diseases typically diagnosed by a physical examination from primary care clinicians, they sought to reduce the number of cases that go undetected for too long. The truth is all too common: many individuals find out they may have cancer long after it has manifested. But now, with a saliva test, Viome is capable of analyzing samples for the presence of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) and Oropharyngeal Cancer (OPC).
Viome’s ability to examine mRNA sequences (determining the level of expression from specific genes) and compare them against a database of biomarkers (utilizing its incredible machine learning techniques) makes determining your risk of disease faster than ever. Faster answers can mean better outcomes and get you the information you need to more rapidly seek clinical help.
“And this is just one example of how Viome is working to prevent and reverse chronic diseases. So far, we’ve developed more than 30 precision biomarkers for the early detection of cancers, metabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and mental health conditions,” Naveen concluded.
Exhibiting Excellence
“I started using Viome several months ago after dealing with chronic gut issues for over 15 years. Viome was the ONLY thing that truly gave me 100% customized results, and they gave me a plan to follow for 90 days which was WAY better than anything I’ve ever had before. And it didn’t just tell me what not to eat; it told me what to eat. So, within a week, I had already felt the results. My stomach was flatter, my digestive issues were totally calming down; It was absolutely incredible. So, I had my husband do it, and he got amazing results too. I’m sharing this with family and friends because this is the first time, I’ve used a program that has really given me the results that I have wanted for years. So, thank you Viome, for everything you guys do, you guys are helping more people than you know, and I can’t wait to share the word about it. Thank you so much!” – Morganna
The food recommendations from Viome have helped my IBS tremendously! A lot of the foods I was eating prior to the test ended up on the minimize list, even some veggies, which I thought was odd. However, since I’ve been eating the foods Viome suggested, I have no complaints! So excited to do another test in 5 months to see how I can make sure I keep my gut bacteria diverse. Thanks, Viome!! You’re a lifesaver. Would definitely recommend! – Elle
“I was a model and an actress, always traveling. All of the sudden my lower extremities started to swell up. 6 months of this goes on and I end up in the ICU, dead to the world. I discovered Viome about 6 or 7 months ago, and the biggest improvement for my health was learning what I shouldn’t be eating. Less swelling, less of the irritation of my gut, and things of that nature-bloating, more muscle gain, and less body fat. So, down 10% body fat, which is tremendous. I really like Viome because it specifies my body type to what I can and cannot eat. Because of the recommendations and what I’m able to eat now, I feel a whole lot better, and it shows. I really can say that it really has helped, and I would recommend it. Viome helped me fix my gut!” – Aniya
URL www.viome.com
Naveen Jain, Founder & CEO, Viome,
