Biohacking is still an emerging concept in India. What’s driving its sudden momentum now, and is it poised to go mainstream?
Indians are waking up to the limitations of generic lifestyle changes for bettering health and longevity, like “move more, eat less, sleep more, stress less” etc. In fact, they are seeing many who follow such generic advice perish younger, like some deaths of celebrities in recent years. On the other end of the spectrum, Indians are also waking up to a realisation that much of the pop health advice being spread through social media like fad diets do more harm than good. These developments are driving up demand for research-based and personalised biohacks. It will go mainstream eventually.
Epigenetics is often seen as the next frontier in healthcare. How close are we to making truly personalised, preventive health a reality?
Thanks to epigenetics, we have already achieved truly personalised and preventive health. But a limiting factor is the compliance level to such personalised protocols. If someone has undergone genetic testing by their 40s or 50s before many disease processes set in, and has identified their genetic risks for developing any lifestyle diseases, half the battle is won. What remains then is whether that genetic testing service has a follow-up protocol of prescribing 360-degree personalised lifestyle changes or biohacks to keep those detected risks at bay. Of course, the rest is in the client’s hands, like consistency in following such advice.
Investors are increasingly eyeing the wellness and longevity space. What makes biohacking a compelling bet over the next few years?
Despite some recent mega deals in the Indian wellness space, I think the jet is still on the runway. This is going to be huge, unlike what most people think. Only the smartest billionaires have woken up to its sky high possibilities – celebrities like Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, Larry Page, Yuri Milner and others – who have already made substantial investments in genomics based prevention and longevity startups. The jet will really take off when some of the biggest PE funds enter the fray. Now it is only a matter of time – years if not quarters – before it happens. It is a compelling bet as prevention is going to overtake treatments by 2040.
What are the biggest barriers to scaling biohacking in India?
The most obvious barrier is that genetic testing is still not mandatory. This is quite unlike in developed nations like the US, where almost all newborns undergo genetic tests. Secondly, most genetic testing services in India focus more on providing a detailed test report and nothing else. Customers are left to their own to figure out how to defend against the detected risks. There is also an issue of failing to correlate the genetic test results with a detailed metabolic assessment to weed out false positives. Scaling up also calls for a new breed of health professionals, as conventional doctors’ hands are full with reactive treatments.
How are you approaching this space at Vieroots, given how quickly it’s evolving?
Vieroots started out in 2020-21, amid the thick of the pandemic worries, with our flagship Eplimo program. It stands for Personalised Epigenetic Lifestyle Modifications. We were the pioneers in India providing 360-degree lifestyle modifications to keep the detected disease risks at bay. We followed it up with our portfolio of precision nutraceuticals for prevention, wellness, beauty and longevity. Since genomics also governs performance, we also launched our Human Performance Optimization (HPO) Protocol, which is more focused on specific clients needs. We also pioneered DNA Based Weight Loss programs in India.
Could you walk us through some of the work Vieroots is currently doing in this area?
Recently, Vieroots has become a pioneer in gut microbiome testing and lifestyle changes based on it. We have also developed a health super app, Trigr, that monitors real-time health metrics from all leading wearables, including our own. Trigr has pioneered technologies like bloodless blood tests using an AI Face Scan, a Biological Age Finder, and an AI Fitness Coach that guides exercise form in real time. Recently, we have also launched our first Vieroots Biohack Centre at Kochi that delivers clinical biohacks like Red Light Therapy, PEMF, EMS, Cold Plunge, Nutritional IVs etc., under the supervision of medical doctors.