A message from Lee Akay, Managing Partner
Innovation Discovery Center LLC
Healthcare is an amazing industry to be part of today and it will become even more amazing in the near future. The innovation that the technology industry is creating is spurring much of the innovation in healthcare as concepts and ideas are applied in real life scenarios. Those scenarios include delivery of care, preventative care, home health, application of genomics data, and even the mundane topic of financial transaction processing.
As consumers (and I include both patients and providers in my definition) become savvy about health information, with the ability to access and utilize this information, the healthcare industry will respond with tools and solutions to make healthcare more affordable, convenient and effective.
My passion is in the area of the application of genomic data. As part of my role in Innovation Discovery Center, I manage a start-up company called Fitgenetix. Fitgenetix has created processes and solutions to treat three of the top health-related chronic conditions facing most consumers today:
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Obesity
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Diabetes
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Hypertension
These conditions are all inter-related in that the typical root-cause is the inability of a person to control their weight usually due to bad eating habits, lack of exercise, and a host of complex environmental factors. This is why the weight loss industry enjoys revenues somewhere north of $65B. Although, the industry is beginning to see those revenues threatened ironically because people today are more likely to try to control their weight.
However, losing weight and being healthy are two different goals and in some cases can be mutually exclusive. Recent articles from the healthcare industry cite the plight of thin people who still have diabetes and hypertension. Eating healthy with the by-product of maintaining an ideal weight, blood pressure and A1C should be the goal. But in order to achieve these objectives, you have to have better information related to how certain foods impact your body’s ability to absorb nutrients, vitamins and support creating the ideal metabolism.
Fitgenetix solutions can do this by providing consumers knowledge-based choice and control over their lifestyle options and delivering prepared food for convenience. It’s about precision wellness with consumer choice, control and convenience.
Just as your DNA is unique to you, so are your fitness and nutritional needs. Fitgenetix analyzes over 120 scientifically validated “actionable” genes to develop a personalized food, supplement and fitness plan for a person based on their unique DNA.
The genomic tests from Fitgenetix are designed to identify food and nutrition choices that work well with an individual’s unique metabolism. Customized meals are delivered to the consumer’s door based on a genomic test report that is scientifically and thoughtfully prepared.
Innovation Discovery Center is dedicated to identifying, managing and improving companies that are focused on the next wave of healthcare innovation and are demonstrating the application of new ideas and products in the healthcare industry such as Fitgenetix and other companies in our portfolio.
Please visit our blog site for additional thoughts and conversation regarding the latest topics in the healthcare industry.