Founded by Wang Jun, a former chief executive and co-founder of genome sequencing giant Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), healthcare technology start-up iCarbonX intends to mine and interpret genomic data from at least one million Chinese people in the next five years.
Having raised more than $600 million from backers including Tencent and listed cell and gene engineering firms, iCarbonX became in April last year the youngest start-up to reach a $1 billion valuation. It is one of the only three healthcare unicorns in China after United Imaging Healthcare ($5 billion) and GuaHao ($1.5 billion), according to CB Insights data,
“We picked partners that could bring strategic value in long-term cooperation going forward,” Wang told FinanceAsia.
It is developing a product that will be available to over 800 million active users of Tencent’s social networking app WeChat, for example.
Much of the buzz surrounding iCarbonX is tied to the expertise of the founding team, which includes former BGI employees. Its co-founder and chief scientist Yingrui Li, for example, served as both chief scientist and CEO at BGI and continues to be a board member.
To put BGI’s genomics prowess in perspective, its human genome sequencing output could in theory surpass every US genomics firm and initiative combined, claimed Nature in 2010.
With that kind of expertise, iCarbonX aims to establish a health-related big data platform and enable every individual to better manage his or her health and defeat disease. “Eating apples could be good for you, but bad for someone else,” Wang said.
To do that, it announced a digital life alliance in January, investing nearly $400 million in the seven other founder members that form the alliance, including the world’s largest personalised health network PatientsLikeMe from the US.
The specific focus on a number of US-based health data and personalised medicine start-ups could help iCarbonX deal with the lack of organised, digitised patient health records in China, and its global expansion.
iCarbonX is one of 10 hot startups FinanceAsia will profile as part of a new series running the rule over exciting companies that are changing the game across Asia. We'll publish more such profiles in the days to come.
