Wellmetrix and DSM announce partnership to deliver comprehensive platform for personalized nutrition
Wellmetrix's diagnostic platform will be used to perform non-invasive and point-of-need measurements of key health biomarkers as part of a nutrition intervention using combinations of DSM's nutritional solutions.
The health data will be analyzed in real-time using the patented Wellmetrix Wellness Panel for tracking improvements in personal health following consumption of DSM's nutritional ingredients. The Wellness Panel is an array of urinary biomarker assays that measure oxidative stress and inflammation markers. The initial study will compare results of the Wellmetrix Wellness Panel to established clinical chemistry blood and urine tests measuring the same biomarkers.
Track health on your phone
Wellmetrix is in the final stages of developing a non-invasive and at-home multiplex test that can pair with a user’s smartphone. This will allow them to track the impact of diet, exercise, sleep, supplementation, hydration or more to deliver an individualized look at their personal health.
Casey Fowler, Vice President, Operations and Product Development at Wellmetrix said the Panel is a breakthrough in personalized health tracking. "Our collaboration with DSM has the potential to offer consumers unprecedented insights into their health and wellness, empowering them to make dramatic improvements through supplementation and simple changes in their diet and lifestyle. We're excited to be working with DSM as a global leader in nutrition science and look forward to leveraging the results of our collaboration to deliver sophistication and insight beyond the health or activity trackers currently available to consumers."
According to the company, this development aligns with DSM's goal of demonstrating the impact various product combinations have on the measurement of biomarkers in urine.
Last year, DSM made a similar move by acquiring an equity stake in Mixfit Inc. This investment builds on the previously announced partnership between DSM & Mixfit and combines DSM’s expertise in essential micronutrients with the technological edge of Mixfit to analyze health data in real-time and address nutritional gaps.
Prior to the Mixfit acquisition, DSM sold its personalized nutrition business to Viocare. In 2011, DSM spokesperson Herman Betten spoke to NutraIngredients about the transaction: “DSM Personalized Nutrition was a small business that basically functions as a corporate wellness programme for employers and employees. It no longer fits our strategy and is a much better fit for Viocare.”
Personalized nutrition is big business
With the blowup in the personalized nutrition market, it’s no wonder DSM wants back in the game. The global personalized retail nutrition & wellness market size is expected to reach $50 billion by 2025, according to a report by Grand View Research, with a 9.1% CAGR expected over the forecast period.
The report points out that an increase in demand for preventive health measures, growing trend of customization in the food sector, focus on healthier eating and rising ongoing activities in nutrigenomics have bolstered the development of personalized nutrition products.
"As consumers become increasingly aware of the benefits of individualized combinations of nutritional ingredients at effective and safe doses, DSM is committed to supporting the development of personalized nutrition solutions that address nutritional gaps and support a healthy lifestyle. Evaluation of new personalized wellness technologies will provide the insights necessary to offer custom solutions and new product concepts in the future and Wellmetrix is the ideal partner to carry out these tests with its advanced diagnostic platform,” said Dr. James Bauly, Global Head Personalized Nutrition at DSM.
