What does Genoplan do?
Genoplan incorporates biotechnology, information technology, artificial intelligence, and industry-leading expertise to provide accurate yet, comprehensive genetic analysis service to individuals.
We work in two main areas,
1. Building a comprehensive saliva based genetic testing kit and analysis service.
2. Incorporate both genetic and non-genetic factors to provide combinational predisposition to various diseases and tendencies of individuals subsequently to take proper preventative measurements. And we will build the service like the above with B2B2C model.
How did you/the founders come up with the idea?
The CEO, Brian, saw US-based DNA screening company, Counsyl, founded by social entrepreneurs and realized how genetics could help to improve society. He found out that there were already a lot of players in the Personal Genetic Testing sector in the US for Caucasians, but there was a very limited market who focuses on the Asian population. Hence, Brian started Genoplan with a big ambition of connecting people with genetic information, improving lifestyle of individuals, and advancing medical research in relation to the Asian population. Genoplan dreamed that everyone could access their own gene information and find information for optimal life planning.
Could you tell us a bit about you and your team?
Our team has small numbers, but exceptional talents with backgrounds of medical, bio-tech, IT, insurance, finance and so on. I, Yusuke Hioki, had worked in Morgan Stanley Investment Banking Vision for more than 3 years and focused on IPO/M&A/Other offerings while learning the corporate finance and valuation. Because I was studying Applied Science/Bio Science while at Kyoto University, I was impressed by Genoplan’s vision. Now I work in marketing for Genoplan. In Japan, the aging society and stressful lifestyles are prominent, therefore offering some solution or advice on “how to live” is very important. I trust that genetic data can be the foundation data for personalized “how to live” solutions.
What are the other alternatives to Genoplan?
Currently there are no alternatives, we think. But there are some B2C genetic analysis service companies in Japan. Our advantage lies in “analysis and output”, as the maximum number of analysed items is higher than standard, our analysing time is the fastest, our product has the most economical cost and our user interface has a beautiful design. This sets us apart. However, the biggest point is that we aim to give not only the genetic test and results but also subsequent services based on the genetic data.
Who is your target customer?
Any type of partner can add value on our genetic analysis service. For example, if a fitness company partnered with us, end-users would receive a personalised training menu based on their genetics and accompanied by our partner’s expertise. If we partnered with a supplement supplier, end-users could take a personalized menu of supplements through our data and partner’s services. These are examples of how our corporate possibilities could consist of all types of companies who specialize in offering a solution or advice about “life” or “health”. So we should hear the end-users “voice”(=needs) and make a valuable solution for user’s life with our potential partners.
How does your product make a difference to the industry?
As we mentioned before, we noticed that there was a lack of Asian genetic data in the Genetic Testing sector. Genoplan aims to fill this gap by utilizing a B2B2C model. We bring in partners from a variety of different fields and industries to work together and develop a solution based in genetics. As the case study we already built in Japan, Genoplan is participating in the health promotion project for local residents in partnership with the local medical corporation. This is maybe the first case in Japan, tag between genetic company and medical institution. This is a project that addresses Japan’s challenges of extending the healthy life expectancy of the elderly in the region and reducing medical costs. Another case, we provided genetic testing as a corporate welfare program. This is a project to support employees’ healthy corporate life and to support proper life planning, which in turn will reduce corporate medical expenses. As mentioned above, we will gain market confidence and differentiate from other comparatives by building advanced cases in Japan.
What are the milestones for Genoplan?
We aim to make lifestyle solutions and advice through genetic analysis for Japanese people standard in five years.
Why did you start targeting Japan?
We currently work in Singapore, Korea and Japan. We felt that since the genetic data market is still small in Japan, we wanted to step in and develop further opportunities in this field.
