South African led UK genetics brand DNAFit has been selected as a launch partner of Helix, the new US-based marketplace of DNA-powered products set to transform the direct-to-consumer genetic testing industry.

Led by South African life sciences entrepreneur CEO Avi Lasarow, DNAFit will deliver their health and fitness products for the groundbreaking new Helix platform.  While operating out of a head office in London, the company retains a strong South African connection thanks to a core team of 25 based in Johannesburg.

Lasarow’s ​DNAFit has been chosen as health and fitness partner for Helix, placing the brand alongside rarified company in Silicon Valley, home to many of the world’s leading tech and digital brands. Led by CEO Robin Thurston and created on the back of more than $100million USD of startup capital, the Helix.com platform is exclusively available within the U.S. and offers DNA-powered products that offer insights on ancestry, entertainment, family, fitness, health and nutrition.

The partnership is the latest exciting step in Lasarow and DNAFit’s mission to help identify how people can exercise, eat right, and live better on a truly personal level. The brand focuses on taking cutting edge science out of the laboratory and into the hands of both ordinary consumers and elite sportspeople, helping them understand how their DNA affects their response to fitness and nutrition changes.

Founded in 2013 by Lasarow after more than a decade of innovation within the DNA and forensic science industry, DNAFit has generated more than 85million South African Rand since launch and the new relationship with Helix is the latest example of global expansion.

Avi Lasarow, CEO of DNAFit said:

“As a proud South African I am delighted that DNAFit has been chosen as one of the launch partners of Helix. There is no doubt that Helix is going to be a game-changer for the genetics industry, offering customers amazing insights into their lifestyle via this unique marketplace. Aligning ourselves with the Helix brand is an excellent fit as we believe that our technology should be available to as many people as possible, as easily as possible. The Helix platform is fits perfectly with this mission, so we look forward to working with Helix in this exciting new relationship.”

With Helix, consumers will only need to have their DNA sequenced once to access the new DNAFit products.  To get started, consumers visit the Helix marketplace at helix.comto order one of the DNAFit products which includes a saliva collection kit. Once the saliva sample is mailed in, Helix reads their DNA, DNAFit translates the data into insights and delivers them to the consumer. Existing Helix customers who have previously been sequenced through Helix, can easily and efficiently order DNAFit products without submitting another saliva sample. Helix.com is only available to U.S. residents.

Named by President Jacob Zuma in 2015 as Honorary Consul to the UK, Lasarow’s team completed last year the world’s first peer reviewed clinical study* to focus on links between exercise and genetics.A peer-reviewed study on the DNAFit algorithm found that training according to an individual’s genetics gave almost three times the performance increase over unguided training.

The ground-breaking science was translated into the world’s first ever online genetic training platform – Elevate, which creates personalised, interactive training plans based on a customer’s goals and genetic profile. Inspired by this potential, DNAFit teamed up with Springbok rugby union icon Bryan Habana last year to launch the Rugby Genonome project, seeking to establish the largest genetic database of rugby players across the world.

Justin Kao, Co-Founder and SVP of Helix, said:

“DNAFit is at the forefront of utilizing genomics to inform fitness insights and we’re excited to team up with them to bring their innovative products to the Helix marketplace. By harnessing the power of our next-generation sequencing and proprietary Exome+ technology, DNAFit is able to continually update its products with the latest insights from DNA to provide every person a personalized and tailored approach to achieve their own fitness goals.”

For more information visit www.dnafit.com or www.helix.com

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