SOMOS Is Expanding Genetic Data in Latin America with an Emphasis on Serving Indigenous Populations…

SOMOS Is Expanding Genetic Data in Latin America with an Emphasis on Serving Indigenous Populations in an Equitable Way

Co-founders Federico von Son and Christian Rodriguez, both medical doctors trained in Mexico, are building “23andMe for Latin America” with a twist. They’re putting boots on the ground to make sure that native communities across Latin America are represented, and then fairly compensated for their participation in the biobank.

Challenge

For years we’ve heard about the promise of precision medicine, driven by a revolution in genetic data. This year Wired magazine declared that “the era of fast, cheap genome sequencing is here,” thanks in part to technology companies driving the cost well below $500. Companies like 23andMe and Ancestry.com brought this world to consumers by the tens of millions, normalizing conversation about genetic health risks.

However, genetic testing has a diversity problem. It’s well documented that when researchers study large populations to connect genetics with disease prevalence, they primarily look at populations of European ancestry. It’s not surprising: it’s cheaper and faster to work with the genetic data that’s readily available.

One prime example of this is the lack of detailed genetic data available within the Latin American population. This lack of diversity isn’t a political or social issue so much as a medical problem. When a pharmaceutical company creates a drug or dosing regimen based on one population’s genetic data, they run the risk of over or under prescribing that drug for millions of people. Whether its blood thinners or cancer treatments, examples abound of specific Latin American populations metabolizing drugs faster or slower than the general population, putting people at unnecessary risk.

Genetic testing opened up the world to precision medicine. Now it’s time to see the world as diverse as it is, and create drugs and therapies suited to unique populations. In Latin America, that’s going to require a targeted, concerted effort to bring new communities into the fold. It’s going to require a company to see Latin America as its own ultra-diverse patchwork of communities, not a genetic monolith.

This is precisely where SOMOS has placed itself in the market. It offers genetic testing geared towards the Latin American market, with a specific eye on cultivating diverse biobank data from indigenous populations in a culturally responsible way.

Origin Story

While Federico von Son was training as a physician in Mexico, he noticed a problem. He was being asked to care for Mexican patients based on research that had little to do with the patient population in front of him.

“I really got very concerned because I identified that the genetic markers that were over-represented in other regions, like Europe or Asia, weren’t represented in Latinos,” says Dr. von Son. “So how could it make sense to continue giving a drug that’s not metabolized the right way in the Mexican population?”

So Dr. von Son decided to improve the amount of available genetic data in Mexico. He started a direct-to-consumer genetic testing company and he and his team trained more than 500 healthcare professionals to conduct and utilize genetic testing in their practices. That process unearthed a deeper problem, and sparked Federico’s next endeavor. Genetic testing was simply too expensive to get the necessary diversity across Latin America. And without that diversity, patients would continue to be benchmarked against populations on other continents.

To solve this issue, Dr. von Son teamed up with fellow physician Dr. Christian Rodriquez and founded SOMOS. They’re taking a two-prong approach to improve genetic testing in Latin America. The first is to do the labor intensive field work of gathering genetic data from indigenous communities in Mexico and across Latin America. The second is to market in-depth Latin American genetic data to consumers in the United States.

“We started to tell people about their percentage of Aztec or Mayan heritage,” says Dr. von Son, who has an eye towards the Los Angeles market. “People get really excited about this information.”

SOMOS launched in the United States in September 2020. They invested in building their algorithm and the platform, and then COVID-19 hit and put a lot of projects on hold. But their direct-to-consumer product met an eager market in the United States and helped them stay on track. Their next goal is to hit 50,000 users and then begin meaningful conversations with the pharma industry.

SOMOS is currently raising a round to collect data first from Mexico (which represents about 25% of the genetic diversity of the continent). The money will be used to collect 7,000 genetic samples from 70 indigenous groups, creating “the largest indigenous biobank in history.” More importantly, says Dr. von Son, it’ll be a centralized biobank, since SOMOS is working off of blockchain technology.

Under the Hood

In order to gather genetic data that’s never been collected before, SOMOS is collaborating with the Mexican government to reach often-isolated indigenous communities. They’re also establishing methods for making sure these communities are remunerated for their participation.

“When I started collecting samples from indigenous communities, I realized how easy it would be for unethical organizations in the same space to take advantage of people’s trust,” says Dr. von Son. “I realized that we needed to use technology to build a strong, transparent relationship with these communities. We started using blockchain technology so that we could invite them to participate in the biobank, but at the same time establish a transparent line of communicating and remunerating the community.”

“We don’t own the data,” adds Dr. von Son. “We want to be the AirBnB or the Uber of genetic data. We want to be the highway for accessing the data. We don’t need to own it.”

Building that trusted line of communication starts with coming into the community with humility, sharing a meal with someone and getting permission from the right community leaders. It means understanding that particular community’s needs. Sometimes those needs are acute, says Dr. von Son, like a lack of clean water or medicine, and SOMOS has been able to serve in these critical ways while also partnering on genetic testing.

The work that SOMOS is doing gathering genetic data from hard-to-reach Mexican communities has given them a deeper understanding of Latin American genetics, which they’ve turned into a consumer product targeted towards Latin Americans in the United States. To date they’ve analyzed genetic data for around 6,000 people, including folks who have taken a 23andMe or Ancestry.com test but want deeper data on their Latin American heritage.

SOMOS currently operates in Mexico and the United States, with plans to replicate their model in other Latin American countries. With five additional countries after Mexico, Dr. von Son estimates that SOMOS would cover 80% of indigenous groups in Latin America.

Why We’re Proud to Invest

While there are certainly other companies hoping to be the “23andMe for Latin America” — not the least of which is 23andMe itself — we’re proud to back Dr. Fererico von son, Dr. Christian Rogriguez, and the SOMOS team for a number of reasons.

First, they’re thinking holistically about Mexican and Latin American genetics. Rather than focus on higher-income consumers in big cities who are on the leading edge of genetic testing, they’re getting out in the community, making sure that a range of population groups are represented, so that future drugs and treatments work for everyone.

They’re also thinking equitably. Core to the SOMOS mission is the idea that indigenous communities should own their own genetic data, and that they should profit from it if and when it becomes marketable to the healthcare industry. They’re accomplishing this through blockchain technology that makes data ownership transparent and verifiable.

Finally, we’re excited to back SOMOS because they’re ushering in the next phase of personalized medicine. The health innovation industry has proven that we can use individualized health data to tailor treatments and improve outcomes. That was step one on the innovation curve. The next step is to scale this innovation by going deeper in the data we leverage. Startups like SOMOS are absolutely essential in this work and will open up amazing opportunities within the massive Latin American market.

We’re proud of the work SOMOS has already done, and even more excited about what comes next. Join us in welcoming Federico, Christian, and the SOMOS team to StartUp Health.

Learn more and connect with the SOMOS team here.

Passionate about breaking down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

Investors: Contact us to learn how you can back Health Transformers and Health Moonshots.

Digital health entrepreneur? Don’t make the journey alone. Learn more about the StartUp Health Community and how StartUp Health invests.

Follow us on social media for daily updates on Health Transformers: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

SOMOS Is Expanding Genetic Data in Latin America with an Emphasis on Serving Indigenous Populations… was originally published in StartUp Health on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

digital health
blockchain
personalized medicine
healthcare
medicine
medical
pharmaceutical