23andMe partners with Finnish risk detection company Nightingale Health

Nightingale's platform can measure dozens of biomarkers from a single blood sample

Nightingale Health is a Helsinki-based technology company promoting preventative health through a health risk detection platform. The company has developed a health check that replaces current routine tests with a solution that can detect the risks associated with various common chronic diseases from a single blood sample.

Now the company has a new partner, announcing a collaboration on Friday with preventive health and therapeutics company 23andMe to pilot its blood metabolomics panel.

As part of the pilot, 23andMe will offer up to 5,000 23andMe+ Premium and Total Health members, giving them the opportunity to receive blood testing through Nightingale’s Remote Health Check at no cost to them. Nightingale’s Remote Health Check accurately measures dozens of biomarkers from a single blood sample, including cholesterols, apolipoproteins and fatty acids like omega-3. 

The pilot will evaluate customer feedback around blood testing, at-home sample collection, and the utility of the data when coupled with 23andMe’s established personal genetics products.

Nightingale currently operates in seven countries outside of Finland, including Japan, the US, Singapore, and the UK. The company has customers in more than 25 countries in the healthcare and medical research sectors and its technology is being used in a number of health initiatives, such as the UK Biobank. The company recently partnered with Mass General Brigham to make biomarker data available to researchers as they work to bring scientific findings to the healthcare setting.

23andMe, meanwhile, currently offers its annual members the option for blood testing, and provides interactive tools such as HealthTracks, a feature that incorporates customer lifestyle choices into calculating a lifetime risk of disease. The company believes that blood biomarkers might improve the accuracy of these predictions, thereby providing more insight into the kinds of interventions that may be most impactful to a customer’s health.

“We are truly impressed with Nightingale Health’s capabilities in blood biomarker testing. Their work with public biobank projects and resulting publications have previewed the exciting potential for metabolomics in prediction. We believe this collaboration will ultimately help our customers lead longer, healthier lives,” Anne Wojcicki, CEO and co-founder of 23andMe, said in a statement.

“We are enthusiastic about long-term opportunities that combine the power of our technologies.”

(Image source: nightingalehealth.com)