Anwo Health Unlocks Billion-Dollar Market with Big Data-Driven Precision Health Management and Novel Drug Target Discovery

For over two years, the COVID-19 pandemic, which has ravaged the globe, has posed a severe threat to human life and health, while subtly transforming people’s lifestyle habits. The outbreak has spurred demand for genetic testing services, represented by nucleic acid testing, and prompted individuals to take a more proactive approach in understanding genetic testing technologies.

Wu Jian, Founder and CEO of Anwo HealthIt is believed that, first and foremost, the pandemic has given the public a more tangible experience and deeper understanding of nucleic acid testing, effectively completing the user education phase regarding the sampling procedures and underlying logic of genetic testing.

Secondly, driven by strong national policy support, the impetus of the pandemic, and continuous advancements in genetic testing technology, users are paying increasing attention to their health and showing growing acceptance of at-home testing, thereby propelling at-home testing to gradually emerge as a new growth frontier in the health industry.

This is clearly reflected in the steady growth of business data for at-home sampling kits, represented by HPV and genetic testing, over the past two years.

“As the home testing market gradually heats up, an industry boom is only a matter of time. However, for companies, it is more important to identify their specific application scenarios, develop high-quality products accordingly, and deliver them to end users,” said Wu Jian.

Anwo Health, established in April 2018, is China’s leading home health management service platform built on big data. By gaining deep insights into Chinese families, it provides professional at-home testing, diagnostic and solution services, along with high-quality data services. It has cumulatively served millions of households, enabling convenient and rapid self-health checks from the comfort of home, thereby helping individuals and their families achieve more scientific health management plans.

Genetic testing, often referred to as the “code of life” for human heredity, has seen its industry data scale begin to take shape after years of development. While it is an industry consensus that “data is valuable,” the challenge lies in “how to utilize the data.”

Wu Jian divides the development trajectory of genetic testing companies into three stages,First is data acquisition, second is data mining, and third is data monetization.

“In the past few years, Anwo Health has accumulated a user base of over one million. Leveraging its extensive sample and user data, the company has shifted its focus from data acquisition to data mining and monetization,” said Wu Jian.

Against this backdrop, Anwo Health has completed its business layout across three major directions.First, provide a closed-loop system on the user end that delivers test results and targeted products.When a user is identified as having an elevated risk for a specific genetic disorder, targeted, multi-dimensional solutions can be provided, including customized insurance plans, online health services, annual specialized medical examinations, and specific products.

Second, identify opportunities for diagnostic products through data mining.For instance, Anwo Health has collaborated with Peking Union Medical College Hospital on a project for precision nutrition during pregnancy. Regarding nutritional intake for pregnant and postpartum women, in addition to providing routine biochemical blood tests for folate levels, the company has developed molecular diagnostic test kits. By combining biochemical blood testing with genetic testing, it offers a scientifically grounded, comprehensive solution that addresses both folate intake and the genetic capacity for folate absorption and metabolism. Building on this project, the company also worked with Peking Union Medical College Hospital to formulate clinical guidelines for precision nutrition during pregnancy, which are being gradually implemented in the obstetrics and gynecology departments of 50 Grade A tertiary hospitals across China.

The third category of data applications is the most valuable, requires the largest investment, and has the longest R&D cycle: applying big data to drug target discovery.“Genetic testing companies both in China and abroad have long been striving in this direction. It requires a large team of R&D personnel, extended research cycles, strong data R&D capabilities, and multi-omics teams to unlock the value of data. This is precisely what we are currently doing, and we have made significant progress.”

“This year, we have consecutively identified highly promising drug targets related to heart disease and neurometabolic disorders. In summary, we provide users with immediate solutions through testing in the short term, leverage data to develop new diagnostic products for clinical use, and ultimately advance the development of drug targets,” said Wu Jian.

Wu Jian believes that,To unlock the value of data and achieve data monetization, it is essential to have a clear business model plan and its effective implementation.“Although public awareness of genetic testing is increasing, since a one-time test is sufficient, focusing business efforts long-term on data acquisition makes it difficult to establish a sustainable revenue model.”

However, there is a paradox to some extent: on the one hand, there is a desire to unlock the value of data; on the other hand, this requires large volumes of accurate data. “Acquiring large amounts of accurate data entails high business and operational costs. If the data volume is insufficient, organizations can easily become trapped in a prolonged struggle with data acquisition, yet data acquisition itself is not revenue-generating,” said Wu Jian.

Crossing this threshold places significant demands on the front-end capability to acquire user data. For this reason, Anwo Health has positioned itself within specific scenarios, targeting problem-driven users to address concrete health issues. By excluding ancestry analysis, it also achieves lower chip testing costs, thereby reducing data acquisition expenses to a certain extent.

Currently, Anwo Health’s user base is primarily composed of mothers, connecting three generations within a family, includingMaternal and infant populations, primary household members, and middle-aged and elderly individuals.

Mothers are particularly concerned about various issues related to their children’s growth and development. Therefore, Anwo Health offers allergen testing, height assessment, basic nutritional absorption and metabolic capacity testing, as well as evaluations of children’s interests and learning abilities. Furthermore, by extending its reach from mothers to the entire family, the company provides testing services for adults in areas such as diet, nutrition, general health, chronic diseases, and tumor susceptibility. Guided by specific scenarios and user needs, it adopts a problem-driven approach to deliver targeted products and solutions.

In addition to the aforementioned genetic testing data, users also upload their own health and medical record data.

Furthermore, Anwo Health offers extensive B2B empowerment services, providing genetic testing for users of brand owners or merchant platforms to establish efficient connections between consumers and products. For instance, Anwo Health conducted genetic testing for 200,000 users of a certain e-commerce platform, helping the platform gain insights into user characteristics such as sleep patterns and disease risks. This enabled precise product targeting and customized recommendations, thereby improving the platform’s conversion rate.

“Collaborations with the government and businesses have also helped us gain significant advantages in customer acquisition speed, customer acquisition costs, and even product costs, allowing our data volume to ramp up quickly,” said Wu Jian.

Having moved past the stage of data accumulation, Anwo Health beginsCollaborating with multiple research institutions, hospitals, and universities to rapidly screen and mine data in search of better therapeutic targets.

In the second half of last year, Anwo Health collaborated with the College of Life Science and Technology at Jinan University to launch a precision medicine research project based on AI-driven big data analytics. Leveraging AI-powered big data analysis technologies, the project focuses on studying complex disease loci and genes, conducting data mining and translation for related indications and novel drug targets, and applying these insights to new drug development.

Furthermore, Anwo Health has established China’s first system for the assessment and prediction of coronary heart disease (CHD) in collaboration with Stanford University School of Medicine, facilitating early warning and guiding precise prevention and treatment of CHD. Leveraging its proprietary SNP gene database of the Chinese population, the company identified six novel CHD high-risk genes specific to the Chinese population, achieving significant translation of scientific and technological achievements.

It is understood that Anwo Health has deployed three major pipelines in the field of coronary heart disease within its research group, with the first being the establishment of a framework for pharmacological treatment of coronary heart disease.China's First System for Assessing and Predicting Coronary Heart DiseaseSecond,Establishment of a Serum-Endothelial Drug Screening Platform, thirdly,Precision Drug Screening Using an iPS Cell Platform for Patients with Chronic Coronary Heart DiseaseFurther research on the identified high-risk drug targets will be conducted within our research group.

According to Wu Jian, the company is collaborating with the Institute for Precision Medicine at Shanghai Jiao Tong University on projects related to blood-based aging biomarkers. By measuring telomere length in blood samples, they assess aging status and associated risks. Subsequently, leveraging AI-driven drug discovery, stem cell therapies, and other advanced technologies, they aim to improve telomere health, thereby slowing down the aging process.

Since its inception, Anwo Health has clearly defined its product and user positioning. By targeting specific scenarios, it has pursued a multi-pronged strategy across consumer, research, government, and enterprise sectors, establishing comprehensive and efficient customer acquisition channels. This approach enabled the company to rapidly overcome the initial hurdle of data collection and continuously advance the in-depth mining and monetization of data value.

Wu Jian stated, “I have always firmly believed in the value of genetic testing. Although we have completed genetic tests for millions of users, this figure remains far from China’s vast population base, and we must continue our dedicated efforts.”

Looking to the future, Anwo Health will progressively educate users by popularizing the concept of “preventive treatment of disease,” offering genetic testing, and providing comprehensive solutions. In the short term, Anwo Health aims to become a leading enterprise in the home-based testing sector, delivering complete nutritional and health product solutions through a closed-loop model integrating “testing” and “treatment.”

In the long term, the continuous accumulation and feedback of data from both “screening” and “treatment” will provide greater and more sustained data value for the subsequent development of drug targets and diagnostic products, ultimately enabling the independent development of novel drugs.

It is reported that Anwo Health will collaborate with Stanford University School of Medicine and the Shanghai Institute for Precision Medicine at Shanghai Jiao Tong University to sustain its efforts in the fields of aging and congenital heart disease. The partnership will focus on further validation in model animals, drug screening, and new drug development targeting emerging drug targets.