Viome Life Sciences acquires Naring Health and its subsidiaries

Viome Life Sciences, maker of at-home tests for gut and immune system health, announced it has acquired digital health-and-wellness data company Naring Health, including its subsidiaries DiscernDX and Foodome. 

Viome is split into two divisions, one selling consumer products like microbiome tests that provide diet recommendations and supplements, and the other focused on identifying biomarkers for chronic diseases to help with prediction, early detection and precision therapeutics. 

The company utilizes AI and a gene expression database to develop home-based tests, including a total-body intelligence test for users to obtain food recommendations and create custom-formulated supplements and probiotics and an oral-health intelligence test, using its VRx My·Biotics Oral Lozenges, that is targeted at evaluating and improving one’s oral bacteria.

It also offers a Gut Intelligence Test, available through CVS online and in-store, to help one understand their gut health and obtain recommendations for probiotic strains and prebiotic fibers.

Naring Health offers clinical and molecular data to guide clinical decisions, while DiscernDX is a health-monitoring company aimed at early disease detection. 

Foodome is a company that identifies the bioactive compounds in foods and utilizes science to understand the connection between genetics, diet and diseases.

Viome will combine the companies’ resources, including patents and intellectual property, to offer more precise food and supplement recommendations for personalized nutrition.

“Viome’s acquisition of Naring Health marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of personalized nutrition and longevity,” Naveen Jain, founder and CEO of Viome, told MobiHealthNews in an email. “We are poised to revolutionize how individuals manage their precision nutritional needs based on their unique biology. Together, we’re unlocking extraordinary insights that hold the key to living healthier and longer through the power of food as medicine.”

THE LARGER TREND

Viome closed a $86.5 million oversubscribed Series C funding round in August, bringing its total raise to $175 million. The company also announced it launched its Gut Intelligence Test in 200 CVS locations.

In 2021, the company raised $54 million in pre-Series C convertible funding and $56 million in Series B funding in 2019. It scored $15 million in August 2017.

The Washington-based company received FDA breakthrough device designation for its mRNA analysis technology and AI platform in 2021, which detects early signs of oral and throat cancer through a user’s saliva samples.