Mukesh Ambani's group is venturing into genetic mapping, hoping to make a healthcare trend spearheaded by disruptive US startups like 23andMe more affordable and widespread in India's expanding consumer market.
According to Ramesh Hariharan, chief executive officer of Strand Life Sciences Pvt., which developed the product, the energy-to-ecommerce conglomerate will launch a comprehensive 12,000-rupee ($145) genome sequencing test within weeks. Reliance Industries Ltd., led by Asia's richest person, bought the Bengaluru-based company in 2021 and now owns roughly 80% of it.
The genome test, which is about 86% less expensive than other options available locally, can reveal a person's proclivity for cancer, cardiac and neuro-degenerative diseases, as well as identify inherited genetic disorders, he said.
The project to bring affordable personal gene-mapping to India's 1.4 billion people — the world's most populous country — has the potential to generate a treasure trove of biological data that can aid drug development and disease prevention in the region. It also aligns with Ambani's ambitions to delve deeper into the world of data, which he has dubbed the "new oil." "— as his $192 billion empire expands beyond refining and into consumer and digital services.
"It will be the world's cheapest such genomic profile, "Hariharan, who also co-founded Strand Life Sciences, stated. "We're going out at a low price point to drive adoption because it allows us to build a viable business in preventive health care."