• by Les Luchter , July 9, 2024

MyPhenome, a simple saliva test for obesity that’s been available through healthcare providers for the past year, launches directly to consumers today through Hello Alpha, a seven-year-old women’s telehealth service.

MyPhenome determines what type of obesity a person has based on their DNA. These types include “Hungry Gut” (accelerated gastric emptying, causing people to feel hungry sooner after eating), “Hungry Brain” (consuming too many calories without feeling full), and “Emotional Hunger” (eating in response to emotional triggers). Once that’s determined, Hello Alpha primary care providers provide guidance to patients on which drug, exercise and diet plan will be most effective for them.

For Hungry Gut patients, such treatments may include GLP-1s.

In May, Phenomix Sciences -- which markets MyPhenome -- released results of a study showing that Hungry Gut patients treated with Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy or Ozempic achieved 15% total body weight loss after 12 months, compared with 10% for obese individuals without Hungry Gut.

Hungry Brain patients, requiring more calories at each meal to reach maximal fullness, may instead need “specific diets, medications such as phentermine-topiramate (Qsymia), and certain devices and bariatric surgeries,” Phenomix tells Marketing Daily.

And Emotional Hunger patients, “characterized by high levels of cravings, anxiety, and depression,” may need treatments that include “cognitive therapy and medications such as Naltrexone/bupropion (Contrave).”

Obesity treatments tailored to a patient’s phenotype(s) are twice as effective as one-size-fits-all treatments, according to an earlier Phenomix study.

But patients can have multiple phenotypes, leading to higher body weight and body mass index, and requiring “a more aggressive approach to enhance weight loss,” other Phenomix studies have found.

HelloAlpha’s current subscriber base, which the company says numbers in the tens of thousands, is eligible to get MyPhenome starting today -- or 50 of them, at least.

That’s how many qualifying patents will get MyPhenome at first, with availability expanding to all existing and new Hello Alpha patients starting September 2, with the test included in a $399 three-month membership.

The needed qualifications? HelloAlpha primary care providers will determine eligibility based on body mass index and patient history, the service tells Marketing Daily, with the added proviso that patients be 18 or older and not residents of New York, New Jersey or Rhode Island, where state laws restrict telehealth platforms from charging for DNA tests.

The MyPhenome test, shipped to the patient’s home or provider’s office, takes less than a minute to complete, Hello Alpha says. “From there, it’s sent off to our labs and patients typically receive results and their personalized MyPhenome lifestyle guidance report within 2-3 weeks.”

Phenomix says its technology in diagnostics, machine learning and phenotyping has “endless” potential for chronic diseases like diabetes, but  “right now, we’re very focused on making strides in obesity and partnering with the right companies to help as many patients pinpoint their specific cause of weight gain.”

Asked how Hello Alpha differs from other telehealth services focused on women, Hello Alpha points to its dedicated and “comprehensive” use of primary care providers.