LISTED Philab Holdings Corp. is making a push towards genetics-based healthcare as it changes its name to DNA Holdings Corp. and teams up with Hong Kong’s Prenetics Ltd. to launch a digital genetic services in the Philippines

In a disclosure to the stock exchange Tuesday, the company said it wants a name that is “reflective of our company’s belief that genetics is the next frontier in medicine and in our mission to provide accessible, accurate and affordable healthcare to all Filipinos under the country’s Universal Health Care.”

This follows its disclosure late Monday that it has earned the exclusive rights to market, sell and provide certain genetics testing services of Prenetics in the country after signing a memorandum of agreement last week.

In a statement Tuesday, DNA Holdings said it is targeting to launch Prenetics’ CircleDNA brand within the first quarter next year and reach 100,000 Filipinos in the next three years.

“This timely partnership will bring affordable, accessible and accurate world-class DNA testing to the Philippines… They will lower the total cost of healthcare not just for the patient but for the nation,” DNA Holdings President and Chief Executive Officer Robert W. van Zwieten said in the statement, alluding to the recently passed Universal Heath Care Law.

He said through DNA tests, people can “prevent hereditary disease through early prevention.”

“We hope to eventually integrate genetic diagnostics into PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corp.),” Mr. van Zwieten added.

CircleDNA is a product of Prenetics that claims 99.9% analytical accuracy. Among its services are optimizing health through diet, fitness and lifestyle; family planning; evaluating health risks and a comprehensive DNA test to detect risks.

Aside from the Philippines and its home base Hong Kong, CircleDNA is present in other countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, United Kingdom, South Africa and India. It was founded in 2014 and joins Prenetics’ other genomics business DNAFit.

“We are extremely excited to partner with DNA Holdings in bringing innovative and proven DNA technologies to the Philippine market,” Prenetics Chief Executive Officer Danny Yeung was quoted in the statement as saying.

“It has always been our mission to empower everyone to be in control of their own health, and with DNA Holdings’ track record of success in the Philippines, we believe we can be market leaders in a very short amount of time,” he added.

DNA Holdings booked an attributable net loss of P108.45 million in the nine months to September, slightly slimmer from last year’s P109.72 million. — Denise A. Valdez

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