Prenetics, a startup service for genetics testing, enlisted the help of a major company in Asia for its brand. The A.S. Watson personal care retailers are partnering with Prenetics to sell the Circle DNA.
Tech Crunch reported that Prenetics is banking on the ubiquity of Watson's stores in the East and Southeast Asian countries to test how their consumer DNA testing kit will do in public settings.
The testing is done to measure the public's reactions before a massive launch to other Asian markets. Prenetics initially started as a DNA test provider for health care and insurance firms before they bought London-based startup DNAFit.
This enabled them to produce their consumer test kits, which DNAFit also sold before Prenetics acquired them.
This expansion puts the DNA testing firm against companies like AncestryDNA and 23andMe. The Circle DNA kits work by focusing on health reports instead of ancestry. DNA tests are needed for the accuracy they offer, but geneticists have been questioning certain bits of this-largely that of its ability to answer certain questions regarding a person's health reliably.
On the side of Watson, it is an opportunity to become the first to sell Circle DNA in its network of 240 stores. Bio Spectrum reported that the partnership focused on making health sustainable. This was based on a focus on preventing sickness from happening instead of treating that sickness.
Watsons revealed their bigger plans for Circle DNA. After the premiere in Hong Kong, Watsons is planning to introduce it to other markets where the A.S. Watson Group operated. A.S. Watson is the biggest international health and beauty retailer with over 15.200 stores under 12 retail brands operating in 25 markets.
The partnership couldn't have been more perfect with the launch of Circle DNA, touted to be the "World's Most Comprehensive DNA Test." The test delivers 500+ reports even with a single saliva sample. Prenetics is using the "Whole Exome Sequencing Technology" for this, which guarantees a 99.9% validated analytical accuracy and has 50-100x more data gathered than its nearest competitors.
A press statement cleared up what Watsons is planning. A.S. Watson Group chief operating officer Malina Nga said that they are excited to introduce Circle DNA in Watson's Hong Kong first, an easy solution for personalized healthcare assessment.
She continued by saying that they are committed to helping customers take further actions on knowing what ails them and how to cure it through this introduction.
