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Mapmygenome cements global leadership in Genomics with strategic acquisition of Canada's Microbiome Insights

Mapmygenome cements global leadership in Genomics with strategic acquisition of Canada's Microbiome Insights

Cision Canada5 days ago

HYDERABAD, India and VANCOUVER, BC, May 29, 2025 /CNW/ -- Mapmygenome, an AI-driven leader in genomics and personalized health, announced the strategic acquisition of Microbiome Insights, a global leader in microbial sequencing. The acquisition includes Microbiome Insights' CAP-accredited Canadian laboratory and rich intellectual property, boosting Mapmygenome's scientific prowess and enabling its global expansion.
Having supported over 600 global clients with 1,000+ cutting-edge microbiome studies, Microbiome Insights is a leading partner for academic, clinical, and industry researchers. Its founders, Dr. Brett Finlay, Dr. William Mohn, and Malcolm Kendall, are recognized global experts.
Microbiome Insights will maintain its role as a premier CRO, empowering global research. Simultaneously, Mapmygenome will introduce its integrated genomics and microbiome testing services to North America, making holistic, data-driven health solutions more accessible.
"The human microbiome is pivotal to health, and this acquisition positions us as a leader in this area. We gain exceptional expertise in metagenomics, transcriptomics, and targeted metabolomics to serve academic, biotech, and clinical sectors," declared Anu Acharya, Founder and CEO of Mapmygenome. "This accelerates our North American footprint aligning with our strategic vision of growth through targeted acquisitions leading up to our listing on the Indian market later this year"
"Joining forces with Mapmygenome, provides the resources and capabilities to offer higher quality services to our clients and accelerate growth. The combination of their expertise in AI-driven genomics solutions and our deep microbiome expertise will result in a new standard of cutting-edge services for clients worldwide," said Malcolm Kendall, CEO of Microbiome Insights.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
About Mapmygenome:
Founded a decade ago, we are a leading genomics company driven by pioneering research and a vision for preventive healthcare. We harness AI-driven genomic and microbiome testing to deliver personalized health solutions, with offerings like at-home DNA tests for proactive health and longevity. For healthcare providers, our diagnostic genomic tests are conducted in a CAP-accredited lab, ensuring high accuracy, complemented by genetic counseling.
About Microbiome Insights:
We are a global leader providing end-to-end microbiome sequencing and comprehensive bioinformatic analysis. Collaborating with pharma, biotech, nutrition, cosmetic, and agriculture clients, alongside leading academic and government institutions, we've supported over 1,000 studies, from basic research to clinical trials, and biomarker discovery to machine-learning based modeling.

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She ended up calling the company, getting the product, and dedicated the next 10 years of her life to promoting it. Both of my parents are entrepreneurs, and they worked on the business together. My mom ended up selling the retail stores she owned to become a Canadian distributor, and my dad, who was a tech entrepreneur, helped her develop an online store all the way back in 1992. She dedicated her whole life to promoting menstrual cups around the world from our kitchen table. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW When did your family start its own business? I started using menstrual cups when I was 13, and by the time I graduated university I had a lot of experience with them. We had a lot of ideas on how to improve it, so we started to work on our own design. We found a company in Bolton called Silcotech, founded by Michael Maloney, an expert in design and tooling. 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In early 2012 a Carnival Cruises boat sank, and they decided to give up their billboard in Times Square. The sales rep happened to be a woman in Hamilton who reached out to us to offer an incredible deal on the ad space because she loved our product. Business L'Oréal Canada CEO on how the 'lipstick effect' drives the 'essential' beauty business 'Sometimes people look at beauty as a little bit superficial,' says L'Oréal Canada CEO An It was a huge investment for us, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. That digital ad ran four times every hour, twenty-four hours a day, for a whole year. That was before we had significant distribution in New York, so it was a big risk. We had been trying to reach a buyer at Shoppers for several years, and they kept saying no, but then they got a new buyer. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW She had seen our banner in Times Square and agreed to give us a meeting. That buyer took a risk because our budgets were nothing compared to the multinational conglomerates that spent hundreds of millions a year advertising pads and tampons, but women were tired of what was out there and interested in trying something new. When we started out nobody really cared about sustainability — nobody was carrying reusable water bottles and grocery bags or talking about health and wellness — but by then the conversation had changed. When did you feel like you had made it? Pretty soon after Shoppers we got into major American retailers, like CVS, and before you knew it, we were in 60,000 stores across the United States. We were featured on a Larry King show about sustainable innovation, and we started seeing the Diva Cup in pop culture. The first time was in 2014 in the Adam Sandler movie Blended, and since then it's been mentioned in Modern Family, Amy Schumer had a whole bit about Diva Cups; people send us Diva Cup songs, poetry and artwork. In 2016 we won two EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards — one in the sustainable products category, and another for being an industry disrupter — and we kept winning awards after that. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Our growth quickly became exponential, in the hundreds of percentages each year, and we were no longer this scrappy underdog. At one point we were selling in 38 countries, and we were spreading ourselves too thin. Between 2016 and 2020 we were really struggling to manage all the business we had won. What was the breaking point? In 2020 we faced a lot of different challenges, from the growing pains of a rapidly scaling business to new competitors, and then the pandemic hit. Ironically, we were selling online in the beginning, but when we signed deals with retailers, they required that we shut down our online sales, because they didn't want to compete. So, when COVID happened, many of our competitors were strong on eCommerce, and we weren't. 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