Page 74 - Forbes - Africa (March 2020)
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VERY GOLD RUSH ATTRACTS ITS
shareofcharlatansandclaimjumpers.More
thanahalf-dozenstartupsareusingthe
Emicrobiomeasamarketingbuzzwordto
sellstool-analysistests.Thekits,whichrequirethe
consumertomailasmallsampletoalab,purport
toconveyvaluablepersonalizedhealthdataand
nutritionadvice.Thatdespiteaconsensusamong
scientiststhatit’snotyetpossibletodrawuseful
dietaryrecommendationsfromaperson’spoop.To
avoidhostileoversightbytheFDA,thekitsellersare
carefultomakenospecificclaimsaboutdiagnosingor
treatingparticulardiseases.
Fouryearsago,formerInfoSpacebillionaire
NaveenJain,60,launchedBellevue,Washington-
basedViome,whichsellsa$119“gutintelligence
test”online.Afteranalyzingapea-sizedstoolsample,
itsendscustomersacustomized60-pagereport
withdietaryrecommendations“aimedatbalancing
youroverallmicrobiome.”Itmightrecommend,for
instance,increasingconsumptionof“superfoods”like
alfalfasproutsandanchoviesoravoidinggreenbeans
andkombucha.JainsaysViomehassoldmorethan
100,000kitsandbankedmorethan$15millionin
revenuelastyear.
“Viome’sclaimsarenotsupportedbyany
Medicine Show scientificliterature,”saysJonathanEisen,amedical
Viome founder Naveen Jain at company headquarters in a Bellevue, Washington, microbiologyprofessorwhodirectsmicrobiome
WeWork space. “The goal is to scientifically show that it’s not voodoo stuff or a placebo.”
researchattheUniversityofCalifornia,Davis.
“Whatthey’resayingis,infact,deceptive.”Adozen
InsideVedanta’smazeoflabsandstorageroomsisanoversized formerViomestafferssaytheybelievethecompanywassellinga
freezercontainingfecalmatterfrom275donorsonfourcontinents, productofdubiousvalue.Sixofthoseex-staffersdescribethefood
includinganindigenoustribeinPapuaNewGuinea.Vedantais recommendationsas“pseudoscience.”
isolatingandthentestingbacteriafromeachsampleinthehopeof “Anyonewhosaysthisdoesn’tunderstandhowourscienceworks
determiningwhichstrainsmakethemosteffectivedrugs. andhowwemakerecommendations,”Jaincounters.“It’snotmyjob
AwiryCatalanimmigrantwithclose-croppedsalt-and-pepperhair toconvinceeveryone;it’smyjobtocontinuetohelpmaketheworlda
whobicyclestowork,OllecametotheU.S.in2002tostudychemical betterplace.”
engineeringatMIT,wherehefocusedontheemergingscienceofusing Anonstoptalkerpronetoenthusiastic,stream-of-consciousness
liveorganismslikebacteriatoproducedrugs.In2007,afterearning self-promotion,JainimmigratedtotheU.S.fromIndiain1982and Photograph bY Michael Prince FOR FORBES; tim pannell for forbes; ethan pines for forbes
bothanMITdoctorateandanMBAfromtheSloanSchool,hejoined workedatMicrosoftfrom1989until1996,whenhefoundedInfoSpace,
PureTechHealth,aBostonbiotechfirm. alsoinBellevue,whichdeliveredinternetcontenttoearlycellphones.
In2010PureTechbackedhiminlaunchingVedantawithfive Hisnetworthballoonedto$8billion,thencrashedto$220million
cofounders,allscientists,includingbignamessuchasKenyaHonda, whenthefirstinternetbubbleburst.Afloodofshareholdersuits
amicrobiologyprofessoratKeioUniversitymedicalschoolinTokyo. followed,andtheInfoSpaceboardfiredhimasCEOinlate2002.
Hondahadpublishedaground-breakingpaperontheconnection BeforeheleftInfoSpace,heboughta$13millionstuccomansiononthe
betweengutbacteriaandregulatoryTcells,knowntoprevent shoresofLakeWashingtonnotfarfromJeffBezos’andBillGates’pads.
inflammatorydiseases.“ThinkofthemastheU.N.peaceforcesofthe Despitehavingnobackgroundinscienceormedicine,Jainhas
intestine,”Ollesays.“Honda’sworksuggestedthatthecellsencodedin managedtoraise$75millionfrominvestorsincludingBenioffand
humanDNAareinfluencedbythebacteriathatlivewithinyou.” Khosla.Bothdeclinedtocommentontheirmicrobiomeinvestments.
“Thisworkhasforcedmetorethinkwhatitmeanstobehuman,” ButAlexMorgan,aKhoslaVenturesprincipalwithanM.D.andPh.D.
Olle says. “We are not just the product of the Homo sapiens genome.” from Stanford, suggests Khosla’s decision to back Viome has nothing to
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