Lose It is getting into the DNA analysis space.
The Boston-based weight loss app, which has been downloaded over 30 million times, announced on Monday that users can now take a DNA test for a more personalized weight-loss plan. The new product is made possible through Lose It's new partnership with Helix, a DNA-testing startup that competes with the likes of 23andMe and Ancestry.com.
Backed with $100 million from DNA sequencing company Illumina, Mayo Clinic Ventures and private equity firms, Helix officially launched last year with the promise of providing a marketplace of "DNA-powered products," where customers can use their test results with various Helix partners to learn about things like ancestry or health risks. Up until Monday, Helix had only been offering one product with National Geographic that promises to provide "an unprecedented view into your deep ancestry."
Lose It's new DNA-based plan, called embodyDNA, is part of Helix's first expansion of its marketplace, which includes products from other partners like Admera Health and Vinome.
"There’s really no way to get more personal than the genetic makeup of a person."
Kevin McCoy, Lose It's senior vice president of business development, told BostInno that embodyDNA is the company's next step in providing a more personal weight loss plan.
"There’s really no way to get more personal than the genetic makeup of a person," he said.
Before the new product came out, Lose It's app provided personalization by using information on things like age, weight and height to help users determine what steps they should take. Using the results of a DNA test, the company claims it can now determine certain traits, like how effectively your body metabolizes saturated fat and whether or not you have sensitivities to dairy or gluten. The other 13 traits tracked by the app include vitamin D levels, iron metabolism and sodium levels.
From those traits, the app can provide recommendations to help you achieve your weight loss goals, including, for example, how much saturated fat you should have each day. Beyond recommendations on food and beverage consumption, the app also provides recommendations on physical activity based on your DNA results.
Users can expect to receive the results of their embodyDNA kit, which costs $189.99 a piece, within six to eight weeks after sending a saliva sample. All DNA sequencing is done from Helix's lab in San Diego. Helix claims that its proprietary "next-generation sequencing assay" can yield "100 times more data than other techniques.
Lose It's expansion into DNA analysis comes after the company launched a new machine learning feature for the app last year that allows users to learn the ingredients and nutritional information of their food. The app also lets users track the nutrients of the food they consume by scanning the barcodes of packages.
McCoy said Lose It has 2 million monthly active users. Lose It users have lost a total of 57 million pounds with the app, according to the company.
With revenue primarily coming from its premium subscription service until Monday's announcement, Lose It's annual revenue increased 50 percent in 2016, McCoy said, and it's expected to increase 100 percent this year. That will likely be the result of increased subscriptions and embodyDNA sales, for which Lose It and Helix have a revenue-sharing agreement. The company has been profitable since the end of 2012.
Lose It has 25 employees at its headquarters in Boston's Seaport District.
