Several diseases could be prevented if only we can guess their onset prior. Searching across the internet for an idea that can help you understand the possibility of a disease manifesting your body, I came across MapMyGenome. It was a business venture launched in 2011 by Anu Acharya who has a previous record of establishing Ocimum Bio Solutions.
Anu Acharya was born in Bikaner but spent most of her life in Kharagpur. She graduated from IIT Kharagpur in 1995 and later moved to Chicago in 1995 to pick a Master of Science in Physics and MIS (Management Information Systems) from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She was also the recipient of the ‘Women Ahead’ award at the ET Startup Awards.
Ocimum Bio solutions is a Hyderabad based startup established in 2000. The company is involved with discovery, development and diagnostics outsourcing in the genomics world! Not sure what genetics is eh? In simpler words it is the total amount of DNA in a cell. Now, as you understood that, Ocimum has made some major strides when it comes to analyzing genomes.
Ocimum aspired to find a solution to complex problems and present the world with a high quality bioinformatics tool/software. In their early days, the company wanted to sequence the genome of the medicinal herb Tulsi, whose scientific name is Ocimum. The scientific name transformed into their company name soon. With 3 co-founders and 3 international company acquisition, the company started exploring research as a service model.
By 2010, Ocimum gained a lot of experience in their stream and recognized that their technology could make a huge difference in healthcare. But, as the board of Ocimum was apprehensive about having a business to consumer model, MapMyGenome was soon established as a separate company. Commercial operations of MapMyGenome began in 2013.
At MMG, women are encouraged to take up their passion and hustle hard. The ratio of working women to men which is a 65:35 tells you all about the support the business extends to women.
“We were working with all large pharma companies, but what made me think about MapMyGenome was the fact that I wanted to impact people around us. Also the question of not having enough Indian genome data. And so we thought of doing this” says Acharya.
MapMyGenome essentially uses DNA testing to come up with genomic solutions for predictive diagnosis and prognosis. In simple words, one can analyze their genome(the genetic material or DNA in a cell) to predict diseases or syndromes that the client could be affected with over a period of time. By analyzing the genome, it paves way for the client to take preventive measures from early stages to reduce the risk.
This can be known by using a simple kit called ‘Genomepatri’. And the thing is that, you don’t even need to head to a clinic or need a qualified medical practitioner to know your genome and can use the kit at the comfort of your home. The sample that is needed need not even be blood and mere saliva can suffice!
Anu insists that we should definitely take a step towards our health and should not be scared to take the first step.
“We have a tendency to be fatalistic in our approach to healthcare, with this people can improve their sense of their own health,” Anu adds.
The company has investors like Rajan Anandan, Google’s VP and MD for South East Asia and India, and Satveer Singh Thakral, Chief Executive of Singapore Angel Network.
Head to www.mapmygenome.in to know more about your DNA and make the lifestyle changes needed to pull out any disease that’s likely to occur by it’s roots!
