At the gene level

How the Myhelix startup monetizes biotechnologies

Tata the Coachman, THE CASE

Myhelix is a Ukrainian biotech startup founded in 2016 by genetic scientists Daria Loseva, Ruslana Shadrina and their colleagues. The company develops personal nutrition and lifestyle recommendations for customers based on the analysis of DNA test results.

With Myhelix co-founder Daria Loseva, we talked about the prospects of Ukrainian science, the company's entry into the American market and the future of biotechnology.

– Daria, how did you come to science?

– I studied at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, majoring in biology, then studied genetics and molecular biology at the Kiev National University. Now I continue my scientific activity at the Institute of Food Biotechnologies and Genomics – I study plant genetics.

While still a student, I became interested in pharmacogenetics and nutrigenetics – subsequently, this scientific interest became my main motivation for creating Myhelix. It was on nutrigenetics that I focused – this is a very applied branch of science.

With the help of nutrigenetic studies, it is possible to determine the tendency to accumulate or eliminate various substances from the body. For example, autumn depression may develop due to the slow accumulation of vitamin D3. If this is determined and corrected in time, the quality of life increases significantly.

Or you can determine the permissible amount of caffeine. Many people are interested to know how many cups of coffee you can drink without harm to your health. The answers to this are given by nutrigenetics.  

– How did it happen that scientific interest turned into a business?

– During my studies, I did several projects related to genetics, and continued to work in this direction. Together with my classmate Ruslana Shadrina, we decided that we would develop nutrigenetic tests, especially since there was nothing like this on the market at that time.

After graduating from the Master's degree, in 2016, we took gap year to do the project. We had an idea and an understanding of the product that we want to get as a result. It turned out that the scientific part of the project was the simplest and most understandable for us – we knew which panel we would develop, in which laboratory we would do it, we knew that we would combine the results with dietetics. 

We wanted to sell a finished product – so that a person would receive not just information about genes, but immediately recommendations on nutrition and lifestyle. Translates complex information into accessible text, correctly structures and provides information for the end user Alexander Alekhine. Thanks to her, we have a very beautiful and understandable branding, but it turned out to be more difficult to understand business processes. We began to develop a website, looked for programmers, drew layouts – and did not understand very well how it should all work.

At the same time, Denis Gursky, the founder of the 1991 Open Data Incubator startup accelerator, invited us to participate in the acceleration program - they were just recruiting projects related to medicine. We passed the selection and worked on the project for about 4 months within the framework of this incubator.

– What can an incubator give to a scientific startup?

– Firstly, the time and opportunity to develop an idea in a comfortable environment without distractions, the advice and help of mentors - we were helped to solve many legal and marketing issues. Secondly, the incubator had a lot of media support – that's how many people found out about us. And it has already become much easier to recruit a team – an art director came to us, then a marketer, a designer. Over time, we found a nutritionist and other team members. Our first specialists later became partners of the company. Then the really serious work on Myhelix began. To date, the company already employs 14 people.

– How much money did you spend on the launch?

– At first we invested our savings, it was a small amount, not 100 thousand dollars.

At first we had a classic startup – we worked without a salary at all. But I am convinced that any work should be paid. From the very beginning, I made a promise to myself that people would not work for free for more than 3 months. And so it happened – we found an investor pretty quickly, Gennady Kurochka, (founder of CFC-consulting – ed.), he liked the project and he supported us. 

– How much money did he invest?

– I have no right to disclose this information.

– Tell us about the scientific component of Myhelix. How does it work?

The customer makes an order on the website. The courier brings him a set of DNA sampling kit, with which you can take a sample of the epithelium from the inside of the cheek. The client takes the sample himself, closes it in a test tube and sends it to us. We transport samples to partner laboratories, where DNA is extracted from them, and then the reaction to the desired group of genes is determined. We receive this genetic information in the form of a alphanumeric cipher - this is called raw data or "raw" data.

Previously, we analyzed all the information manually, but with the increase in the data array, we developed bioinformatic algorithms. Now we run all the data through them, analyze several necessary genes, and as a result we get the so-called risk–score - risk factor. We give it to the client in a way that is understandable to him – what risk of this or that manifestation exists, what needs to be done to minimize it.

A person sees all the information – both raw data and analytics – in his personal account on our website. We also post personal recommendations there – on lifestyle, proper nutrition. There are even recipes for dishes that a nutritionist advises the client. All the ingredients in them are spelled out with mathematical precision – a person immediately sees how many nutrients are useful for him in a particular dish. Recipes are developed by a nutritionist and partner of the company Kristina Shevchenko.

In our country, people are used to choosing food according to the principle of "like – dislike" and do not think about how direct the connection is between what we eat and how we feel.

– That is, the service is more of a recommendation character?

– Yes, it is important to understand that genetics is a tool. It does not give 100% knowledge, unless we are talking about serious genetic disorders. We do not make a diagnosis, we help to understand which body systems need additional attention.

– You have several test options.

– Yes, there are tests for one sign that determine susceptibility to alcohol, coffee, lactose intolerance and the likelihood of Alzheimer's disease. Their cost varies from 650 to 750 UAH. A test for 6 gene variants costs 1950 UAH.

There are also comprehensive tests – they include analysis of 52 genes. In general, they sell better, although quite expensive – 6500 UAH. We are working to sell them at a more affordable price without losing quality.  

– How was the price for the tests formed?

– The lion's share of the cost was "pulled" by laboratory analysis – about 60% of the price, another 30% – analytics, and 10% – logistics. We do complex tests in the British laboratory LCG genomics and Finnish Woble Helsinki Oy. Only single tests are in Ukraine.

– DNA testing is not done every day, it is a conscious purchase. What can you say about the audience? Who buys them?

– Initially, our product was more in demand among men – 70% of the audience, while our website was in pink tones – which is surprising.

Men are pioneers, they tried it on themselves, then bought tests for the family. Now the audience has leveled off, if we talk about the gender balance – 50/50.

Our client is a 30+ year old man who is young and healthy, but feels that the body already needs support. People understand that the resources of the body are not infinite – and this pushes them to look for ways to maintain health and strength.

– How will you improve the service in the future?

– In the near future, the client will be able to upload his results of a biochemical blood test to the service. Combined with gene analytics, this will give a more detailed picture. For example, a client has a risk to the accumulation of homocysteine (an amino acid that is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases). According to DNA analysis, we see that this is an innate feature, but we do not know what level of this substance is in the body now – perhaps a person leads the right lifestyle and homocysteine does not accumulate. The blood test gives us a complete picture, and we can develop more relevant recommendations.

– The company has recently entered the American market. Tell us about it.

– We have launched the MyWay DNA project in the USA – it is a subsidiary trademark of Myhelix. We came to America only with analytics, without the DNA test itself. In the USA, a lot of people have their genetic data on hand – there is no demand for tests, but there is a great demand for professional analytics on these data.

American clients upload their genetic data through the My Way DNA online service, we analyze them by 100 genes, and give analytics and recommendations on the same principle as for Ukrainians.

We launched not so long ago, now beta testing is underway, and we are finalizing the site.

– The USA is a very competitive market, what niche have you occupied there?

– Oddly enough, the same as in Ukraine – recommendations on nutrition and lifestyle. In the USA, everyone is very passionate about healthy lifestyle, but there has not been a similar service there until now.

There are companies that provide analytics, but in a different form. We see only a plus in this for ourselves – we analyze the market, the pros and cons of different projects, and offer something new. And companies that have been on the market for 10 years, most often just scale one developed algorithm without changing anything. We can process new, more meaningful genes.

– How promising are biotechnological projects from the point of view of investments?

– This industry, on the one hand, is very promising, and on the other hand, it is difficult to invest. It requires a lot of resources, but it pays off for a very long time. All over the world, where there is much more money than in our country, biotech is only now beginning to invest slowly.

In addition, it is important for a biotech startup to look for an investor from this particular area who would know the market and understand that even a cool idea and a lot of work on R & D does not guarantee that the hypothesis is correct and the investments will return.

– In this business, scientists are often forced to become entrepreneurs quickly. How difficult is it? Is it really possible to combine scientific work and business?

– Very difficult. You can't be a professional in two fields at the same time – you need to make a choice. Young scientists do not immediately understand this, it seems to them that it is possible to fully engage in science and run a business, but this is not the case.

If we talk about Ukrainian science in general, we lack managers. Abroad there is such a thing as a "healthcare manager", but we lack "scientific management". So that not doctors and not scientists, but managers administer the bureaucratic part of science. Our scientist is engaged in everything – both developments, and the search for grants, and business processes, if he has a commercial project. This exhausts people and reduces the effectiveness of any work.

– How to change it?

– The entire scientific infrastructure should be reviewed, an inventory should be carried out in scientific institutes – there is a huge amount of equipment that can be used more efficiently.

In addition, competent operators should come to the scientific industry, who could take over the management of the structure, and leave the development to scientists.

Also, there is no startup ecosystem in Ukraine, and it should be formed in universities, as it is done in the West – professors help students come up with and implement projects, teach them to work in a team, achieve synergy within a team, generate ideas. This is how young people gain experience in building business models, validating hypotheses, and finding investments. These young people will then form a market, they will move the industry forward.

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