Disambiguation

This article relates to the former Australian company MyGene Pty Ltd (ACN 137 407 848 ) that traded between 2007 and 2013 and does not relate to the Australian company MyGene Pty Ltd incorporated in 2020 (ACN 646 563 064) and currently trading. MyGene Pty. Ltd. was a

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

genetic testing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

services company located in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

that owned and operated an accredited on-site laboratory. MyGene specialised in the development of genetic tests and interpretive reports that assessed the genetic contribution of personal response to diet, also known as nutrigenetics.

Establishment

MyGene was conceived and established by Harry Banaharis during work done initially in profiling umbilical cord blood and later

mesenchymal Mesenchyme () is a type of loosely organized animal embryonic connective tissue of undifferentiated cells that give rise to most tissues, such as skin, blood, or bone. The interactions between mesenchyme and epithelium help to form nearly ever ...

stem cells In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...

. The business value proposition anticipated a desire by individuals to understand their genetic individuality and how such knowledge could be used to personalise diet and exercise choices for improved health outcomes. In its initial conception the business would sub-contract a laboratory to perform the genetic test and provide an interpretive web-based report. After some attempts to secure Australian laboratories to perform the testing in a commercially viable manner he decided to establish his own. In 2006, he funded and deployed a prototype gene testing laboratory within the

Alfred Hospital The Alfred Hospital, (also known as The Alfred or Alfred Hospital) is a leading tertiary hospital in Melbourne, Victoria. It is the second oldest hospital in Victoria after Melbourne Hospital which is still operating on its original site. The ...

research centre utilising a Biotage Pyrosequencer instrument for analysing

epigenetic In biology, epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression that happen without changes to the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix ''epi-'' (ἐπι- "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are "on top of" or "in ...

changes in the promoter of

TGF-beta Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) is a multifunctional cytokine belonging to the transforming growth factor superfamily that includes three different mammalian isoforms (TGF-β 1 to 3, HGNC symbols TGFB1, TGFB2, TGFB3) and many other ...

gene to generate data towards his Honours thesis. In 2007 he established the MyGene "DNA to data" commercial laboratory in

CBD and released the first prototype direct to consumer genetic testing kit, the Sports Performance Gene Test. It analysed

single nucleotide polymorphisms In genetics and bioinformatics, a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP ; plural SNPs ) is a germline substitution of a single nucleotide at a specific position in the genome. Although certain definitions require the substitution to be present in ...

(SNPs) in 2 genes known to vary in power versus endurance athletes,

ACTN3 Alpha-actinin-3, also known as alpha-actinin skeletal muscle isoform 3 or F-actin cross-linking protein, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ACTN3'' gene (named sprinter gene, speed gene or athlete gene) located on chromosome 11. All ...

and ACE I/D and a gene associated with impact sports head injury,

APOE4 Apolipoprotein E (Apo-E) is a protein involved in the metabolism of fats in the body of mammals. A subtype is implicated in Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular diseases. It is encoded in humans by the gene ''APOE''. Apo-E belongs to a family ...

. The kit included 2 buccal swabs to ensure sufficient material was collected, a card that contained the access code for retrieving the web-based results and an envelope to mail the swabs to the laboratory. MyGene Genetic Testing Kit.jpeg, The MyGene Genetic Testing Kit with 2 coded swabs for buccal collection and customer ID card Collection_swabs_and_customer_ID_card_in_the_MyGene_Genetic_Test_Kit.jpeg, Detail of collection swabs and customer ID card MyGene_Sports_Gene_Test_Customer_Brochure.pdf, Mygene Sports Performance Gene Test Brochure

Expansion

In 2009 Harry Banaharis was joined by Nick Argyrou, a property developer and former SelecTV director and his wife Helen Argyrou, a pharmacy entrepreneur. The Argyrou's saw an opportunity to innovate in the crowded

meal replacement A meal replacement is a drink, bar, soup, etc. intended as a substitute for a solid food, usually with controlled quantities of calories and nutrients. Some drinks come in powdered form or pre-mixed health shakes that can be cheaper than solid fo ...

market and the newly resourced company was oriented towards pursuing the development of nutrigenetic products and services. Graeme Smith, a nutritional biochemist and biomedical researcher, was recruited to help formulate the meal replacement variants and develop accompanying genetically prescribed weight loss programs. In 2010, David Koadlow, also a major investor in another Australian genetic testing company, Lumigenix (The Age: Tapping into your Genes), acquired a controlling share in MyGene and helped fuel its transition into the world's first genetic testing company that offered a range of genetically matched meal replacement formulations known as the MyGene Weightloss Complete Genetic Program. In 2011 Dr Les Sheffield, founder of MyDNA (MyDNA - About Us), became a member of MyGene's scientific advisory board (Bloomberg).

Nutrigenetics

MyGene's novel approach to predicting the

hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

component of

dietary In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. The word diet often implies the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management reasons (with the two often being related). Although humans are ...

response was to test for variations in

genes In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

that were known to be associated with disorders of

glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...

and

lipid Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include storing ...

metabolism Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the co ...

(see ). According to this method, the greater the number of genetic variants that an individual was found to carry that increased the risk of metabolic disturbances in glucose metabolism, the greater the sensitivity to

carbohydrates A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ma ...

. Similarly, the number of genetic variations associated with adverse lipid metabolism was considered to be proportional to dietary

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

sensitivity. Sensitivity to a

macronutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

would indicate that its reduction in the diet may have conferred increased metabolic and health benefits. Further refinements to personalising diet included tests for genes associated with

gluten sensitivity Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) or gluten sensitivity is a controversial disorder which can cause both gastrointestinal and other problems. NCGS is included in the spectrum of gluten-related disorders. The definition and diagnostic criteria ...

lactose intolerance Lactose intolerance is caused by a lessened ability or a complete inability to digest lactose, a sugar found in dairy products. Humans vary in the amount of lactose they can tolerate before symptoms develop. Symptoms may include abdominal pain ...

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

palatability,

appetite Appetite is the desire to eat food items, usually due to hunger. Appealing foods can stimulate appetite even when hunger is absent, although appetite can be greatly reduced by satiety. Appetite exists in all higher life-forms, and serves to reg ...

control,

folate Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and ...

and

Vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of structurally related, fat-soluble compounds responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, along with numerous other biological functions. In humans, the most important compo ...

metabolism.

MyGene Weightloss Complete Genetic Program

In 2011 MyGene brought to market a nutrigenetic dietary program to optimise

weight loss Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat (adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other conn ...

that was composed of a genetic test, a genetically allocated meal replacement formulation and 12-week dietary program (MyGene Weightloss Complete). Via a collaboration with

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is a national employer's organisation representing pharmacy owners in Australia. Еstablished in 1927 as the Federated Pharmaceutical Services Guild of Australia, it is registered under the Fair Work Act 2009 ...

(Australia's chief

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

body representing community pharmacies)"Guild endorses MyGene"
Pharmacy Daily - Pharmacy Industry News a select number of participating pharmacies provided MyGene consulting rooms whereby customers had

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

samples collected and were counselled on the type of dietary regime required (according to their genetic test results) to achieve their desired weight management goals. The program was also offered in a clinical setting for the treatment of obesity.

Program Withdrawal

Despite the support of the Pharmacy Guild the claims in MyGene's nutrigenetic dietary program were met with scepticism particularly as supporting clinical research was found to be lacking. Dr. Ken Harvey, from the school of public health at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

challenged MyGene to provide evidence on the

sensitivity and specificity In medicine and statistics, sensitivity and specificity mathematically describe the accuracy of a test that reports the presence or absence of a medical condition. If individuals who have the condition are considered "positive" and those who do ...

of the tests being offered. With no response to the increasing number of questions being raised about MyGene's nutrigenetic test and a campaign by the Professional Pharmacists Australia association to have Pharmacy endorsement rescinded the Weightloss Complete Genetic Program was withdrawn from the market during 2012. In 2016, in a recapitulation of MyGene's contentious reception in the Australian market, the myDNA pharmacogenetic test met with similar scepticism regarding clinical utility and patient benefits. Like MyGene's nutrigenetic test, myDNA's pharmacogenetic test is being distributed via pharmacy outlets.

Voluntary Administration & Wind Up

On 11 September 2013, following long standing differences between its major shareholders MyGene was placed in voluntary administration by the majority owner, David Koadlow, and wound up.

References

{{Reflist

External links

MyGene LinkedIn site
Genomics companies Biotechnology companies established in 2007 Biotechnology companies of Australia Biotechnology companies disestablished in 2013 Australian companies disestablished in 2013 Australian companies established in 2007 Science and technology in Melbourne