Panacea is a company that provides clinic-grade whole exome sequencing directly to consumers to help with preventative healthcare planning. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Panacea founder Dahlia Attia-King to learn more about the company.
Dahlia Attia-King’s Background
What is Dahlia Attia-King’s background? Attia-King said:
“Frankly, I never in my wildest dreams thought I would start a health tech company or any company for that matter. I wanted to be a doctor so that I could help people. I was applying to medical school while I worked for a small group of genetic laboratories. This is where I first learned how world-changing genetic testing could be, but how impossibly difficult it is for people to access testing. Insurance coverage for testing is sparse, and physicians are hesitant to order uncovered tests.”
“More than 80% of people whose lives could be changed or saved by testing are not getting tested. Long story short, I dared to believe I could improve this space and after many failures, a few successes and with a team far more impressive than myself, Panacea and our lab partners’ testing and clinical experts’ support is now available in almost every state in the nation!”
Favorite Memory
What has been Attia-King’s favorite memory working for the company so far? Attia-King reflected:
“I think one of the most exciting moments is one that happens over and over every time I see people’s eyes grow big with wonder and fascination when they learn about how Panacea is solving a problem that has yet to be solved, and that solution puts people in control of their health decisions, it’s like Christmas morning. It’s very satisfying to see how valuable this is to people.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Attia-King explained:
“Our scientific advisor Dr. Hinco Gierman, answers this question best:
‘We only offer one test: whole exome sequencing, because it analyzes all of a user’s 20,000 genes. We share both the report on mutations well-known to science, as well as the raw data, so with just one test users can determine current risk factors and, if in the future new discoveries are made about any gene, they will already have that gene analyzed.’”
“In addition to the report and raw data, which are useful for a person’s entire life, our tests are processed only by CAP and CLIA-certified clinical laboratories so that users receive the highest standards in genetic testing. We also include physician oversight on the backend so that users don’t have to get their doctors to order this test, and we offer a free one-hour session with a certified genetic counselor so users can be appropriately guided by trained genetics experts on their results and what to do next.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Attia-King and the team faced in building the company? Attia-King acknowledged:
“One of the biggest challenges that any new company faces is building trust with people, and this is nowhere more true than in healthcare and genetics. Users have to believe that your products and services are reliable and accurate because the data they yield are utilized in guiding people’s healthcare decisions. We first establish trust by choosing to partner with only CAP and CLIA-certified laboratories.”
“These high-standard designations guarantee quality clinical laboratory testing in the United States and provide a level of assurance to our users. Our genetic counseling partners are trained and licensed experts who guide our users on their results, also building another level of trust. Because we choose to provide proven products and services in collaboration with our partners, we have gained a following from people who understand how our emphasis on quality testing and clinical guidance set us apart from so many direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies. We have gained champions who endorse and recommend our products, ranging from concierge medicine physicians to scientists to health and wellness podcasters to early adopters who test our products and then refer people to us. If someone you trust believes in a product, chances are you will, too. It’s a very powerful way to gain credibility.”
Evolution Of Panacea’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Attia-King noted:
“Believe it or not, more than our technology, our messaging has evolved most. Genetics, genetic testing and the science that supports it is such a dense and complicated subject, and we are learning so much about how to address our users’ very real and legitimate questions, concerns and fears. Here is the bottom line message: your genes are not your destiny, and that is nowhere more importantly emphasized than when looking into genetic testing. Understanding your risks shifts control back to you, and that is empowering. That fact seems to not only explain the true power of preventative testing, it also puts people in a position of control.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Attia-King cited:
“One of our most exciting milestones has been our ability to expand our offering nationally, from only Florida to every state (except New York). This expansion took a lot of planning and strategizing and now residents of 49 states can access affordable, game-changing genetic testing to get more control of their health.”
Customer Success Stories
After asking Attia-King about customer success stories, she highlighted:
“Perhaps one of the most inspiring and ironic customer success stories is my own story. I had no idea when I started Panacea that it would likely save my life and my sister’s.”
“We were customers #1 and #2. We found out through Panacea’s Whole Exome Sequencing that we have a genetic mutation that increases our risk for ovarian cancer 9x more than the average woman. My sister and I have no family history of this cancer and we never would have qualified for genetic testing in today’s healthcare system. I am certain there are millions of people out there just like us. I founded Panacea because I knew how many people’s lives could be changed or saved, but never did I think I would be one of them.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Attia-King assessed:
“What’s fascinating is that studies are showing that genetic testing is gravely underutilized due to lack of insurance coverage and poor physician adoption. Almost 80% of people who should be getting genetic testing are not getting it. So it is very much a growing market. Despite that, the current genetic testing market in the US is about $7 billion and what we do will help expand it. Using census data and data retrieved from surveys we’ve conducted, we have estimated our TAM to be about $42 billion.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Attia-King affirmed:
“There are a handful of startups that bring comprehensive genetic testing directly to consumers, and if we were only bringing a better, higher quality test to the market, we would fail. The world doesn’t need another startup that can buy genetic sequencing machinery and sell genetic information to people.”
“What we observed at Panacea is that there aren’t any available solutions that address the multitude of problems that exist in the space. Consumer tests are inexpensive but not thorough or clinical grade. Clinical tests are comprehensive but expensive and mostly inaccessible. Insurers are not covering testing widely, and even when they are, doctors are still not commonly ordering testing for patients. Proper expert guidance is almost non-existent for the majority of people getting tested and patients are often hesitant to get genetic testing for fears of misuse of their genetic data. The problems and barriers are endless and most genetics companies are only partially addressing one of these problems at best.”
“Panacea’s mission centers around cohesively and comprehensively addressing the many barriers that inhibit genetic testing access and utilization. We unite disparate key stakeholders into one streamlined, consumer-accessible workflow. We aggregate and partner with CLIA and CAP certified clinical laboratories, trained physicians, and certified genetic counselors so that every user receives the full range of services necessary for effective genetic testing and targeted healthcare. Our model fuses the accessibility, usability and affordability of a direct to consumer model in conjunction with clinical-grade laboratory testing and the guidance of medical providers so that anyone can receive potentially life-saving testing with cost-effective ease.”
“We also believe that user data is user data- user-owned and user-controlled, despite the lack of legal pressure requiring companies to recognize it as such. Panacea recognizes and uniquely addresses the multitude of problems plaguing the genetics space today with one simplistic solution.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Attia-King pointed out:
“The future success of any genetics company will center around their data privacy policies. If a company does not place its users in control of the decisions that guide data use, I don’t think it can survive. It will be imperative for users to feel safe and have transparency into the use of their data and be able to control how, when and by who their data is utilized, if at all. We currently do not share any user data, and our roadmap will expand on that to include user agency, transparency and control over the use of their genetic data.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics to discuss? Attia-King concluded:
“One question I get asked very often is ‘who is the ideal person for genetic testing?’ In healthcare today, there are guidelines that help doctors select candidates for testing, and this may include people with a family history of disease. However, studies are showing that current guidelines miss about 50% of people who should be tested. Although a family history of cancer may suggest a genetic mutation, the absence of a family history of cancer doesn’t necessarily mean an absence of a genetic mutation.”
“For example, about 50% of people with BRCA mutations have no family history of breast cancer, and these people are missed in today’s healthcare. The truth is there are no great ways to filter who would be a good candidate or not, and that is why low-barrier, affordable testing for anyone that is interested in testing is likely the best way to identify genetic changes that could be harmful so more people can get in control of their health risks.”
