Genomepatri covered in the Mumbai mirror
Coverage in the Mumbai Mirror
9 responses to “Coverage in the Mumbai Mirror”
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youre name isn’t there whos vaze?
On Thu, May 23, 2013 at 4:35 PM, Anu Acharya’s Blog – Mapmygenome wrote:
> ** > anuacharya posted: “Coverage in the Mumbai MirrorGenomepatri covered in > the Mumbai mirror” >
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Heralding good news, too
Even so, prohibitive costs don’t seem to be a problem for those who’d rather know what they’re up against. Especially if — as it happened in the case of 38-yearold Ekta Mehta — it is accompanied with good news, too. The Hyderabad-based businesswoman was diagnosed with a 41 per cent chance of developing diabetes at Map My Genome, a lab co-founded by IIT Kharagpur graduate Anu Acharya, which generates a niftily termed GenomePatri for clients.
Extracting DNA from a swab of saliva, the lab uses global genetic markers to predict the probability of a range of 50 diseases from lung cancer and Alzheimer’s to type-2 diabetes, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis.
A surprise finding changed Mehta’s mood. “I discovered that I carry the athletic gene for running. None of my parents are runners. I guess, it’s the blessing of one of my forefathers,” she says. Mehta runs for an hour daily and avoids eating after 7 pm. She has even downloaded an app on her smartphone that helps her keep count of calories she’s consuming.
Coimbatore-based entrepreneur Subhashini Chandran has also made lifestyle decisions after receiving her GenomePatri in February. Chandran, who manages a chain of food and beverage companies took the test out of curiosity. She was surprised to find that she was at high risk for alcoholism and hypertension. “With my business growing, I tend to take more holidays than I used to four years ago,” she says. “My indulgence is wine, but who knew it was putting me at risk?” Chandran probably got the gene from one of her ancestors who died of liver cirrhosis half a century ago. She now consumes alcohol only on weekends. “As far as hypertension is concerned, my workload will remain the same. I have offset it by indulging in six days of yoga and walking,” she says.
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dear anu acharya ji, the cost of diagnostic kit is too high 20000-25000 for general public… is you company intends to reach public or only upper class who can afford? is this pure business or your intention to serve society???
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Dear Nishant we have several kits like genomepatri, cardamom, oncomap, smart sport, Smart B-thalassemia. When you look at the cost per condition in genomepatri, it is less than Rs 500 . We have tests starting at less than Rs 500.
Genomepatri is currently high because of the costs involved in it. We are serving society but this is not a purely philanthropic venture but an entrepreneur run company.
Can we get your email to send you more information?
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i could understand your point of view it is an entreprenure led organisation however the ultimate goal/objective of any organization should be to help community since you are known for your work but practically the cost is very high for aam aadmi… if your reduce your cost …it can be miracle for publics they can be more preventive and they can ensure better health….our gross GDP would be very high…india’s people will become more productive due to their better health ….govt. expenditure on health will bring more results taking your techniques in practice by aam aadmi….. why not you contact to government of india health ministry to provide you platform/more facilities so that you can reduce price of your testing kit for the help of people…they are racklessly spending in NRHM projects billions of rupees. does is justifiable???? “ghode and gadhey sab barabar hein unkey liye” please take some positive steps at your end being CEO of your company to reduce the price of your diagnostic kits..convince your partners for this noble cause……..donot add commercialisation in it……….you are born for something great……..pls do it…. thaks
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Dear Nishant
Many thanks for your comments and suggestions. It is indeed our endeavor to make this available to the aam aadmi. It may take some time to get it to levels that you are speaking about. Please send me your contact info or write to us at info@mapmygenome.in
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Hi Anu, I have read nishant comments and your reply on this topic… Genome..i have interest in it.. I personally felt that issues raised by nishant is quite contemporary and need positive attention from biotech industry in public interest. I do appreciate your efforts and commitments for fulfilling it.
I have read some of your writings on your blogs and i found that you basically belongs to Bikaner, Rajasthan which is very near to Jodhpur …I have read about some companiees in this sector like Chennai’s Xcode and the Delhi-based Nutragene and 23andme of USA. I have come to know that New York and Maryland in the US explicitly forbid direct-to-consumer genomics tests like 23andMe. They feel that it is incorrect idea to communicate results and clinical interpretations directly to patients without physicians and genetic counselors involved. Could you tell me how it will work in India and in Rajasthan?? Any Legal Implications in it??People may be fearful for maintaining there confidentiality of important health information , if leaked, which can be used by insurance companies to use against any death claims in favour of their company’s interest and against customer interest … What you suggest??LikeLike
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Dear Sunil
Thanks for your note and your interest in Genomics. Yes I was born in Bikaner and we have now a partner in Bikaner whom we can direct you to. You are right about the genetic counseling part and we do ensure that each person goes through a genetic counseling session. In some cases we also do a pretest counseling but in all cases a post case counseling of 30 minutes is included in your test. Some of our counselors are also medical doctors and we have medical doctors in our research team as well. In order to ensure that consumers get true benefit, we have a panel of doctors who we can direct to.We can send the test directly or via our partners in Rajasthan to you. Please email us at info@mapmygenome.in or if you send me your contact information, we will call you.
You are absolutely right about asking about confidentiality. One of the reasons we follow a stringent process of double anonymization is to ensure that your contact information and identity is completely separated from your “data”. We obtain consent forms and do not use your “data” for any research should you choose not to. Your identity and contact information is never revealed so you should stay assured. We have been using a 21CFR part 11 compliant LIMS from day 1.
I would be happy to speak to you in the morning if you have any additional questions.
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mam my email address is nishantjain19180@gmail.com
I shall be waiting for your email.LikeLike
Janampatri to Genomepatri - Anu Acharya 