Are You Engaged?
Relentless RoundUp - 5th Edition
And not the you should put a ring on it kind of engagement, I mean genuinely, committed to management of your own health?
From popular media, to health ministry statements through to scientific conferences, we often hear references to the ‘engaged patient.’ Even at the Life Sciences BC conference earlier in November, patient engagement was a dominant theme.
Well I would like to emphasize, in addition to the engaged patient, is the potential for the engaged individual. While engaged patients are better able to make informed decisions about their care options, the engaged individual can activate around lifestyle choices that mitigate health risks.
Engagement is empowering.
Knowledge is Also Empowering
November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. Feels like the right time to share more about why diabetes prevention, and managing life with diabetes, is a core investment theme at Relentless. Identifying optimal technologies that captivate, heighten personal engagement is at the top of our list.
Eleven million Canadians are living with diabetes or pre-diabetes. Chances are, diabetes affects you or someone you know.
Always the teacher, a quick primer borrowed from the Diabetes Canada website:
TYPE 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease and is also known as insulin-dependent diabetes. Children and adults with type 1 diabetes can’t produce their own insulin (and are unable to regulate their blood sugar) because their body is attacking the pancreas. People with type 1 need to inject insulin or use an insulin pump to ensure their bodies have the right amount of insulin.
People withTYPE 2 diabetes can't properly use the insulin made by their bodies, or their bodies aren't able to produce enough insulin. Type 2 diabetes is most commonly developed in adulthood, although it can also occur in childhood. Type 2 diabetes can sometimes be managed with healthy eating and regular exercise alone, but may also require medications or insulin therapy.
While significant health dollars are committed to curing diabetes (and we are grateful for devotion to a cure), our team is focused on both prevention and proactive management. We are searching for companies that directly contribute to mitigating the risk of developing diabetes, as well as managing life with the disease. And we are confident that a key ingredient to management is personal engagement with products, data and technology.
Did You Know?
There is an ‘obesity’ gene? Now, I know from personal experience there are a variety of jeans that help us get through various life stages, but an actual obesity gene does exist and it is the FTO gene (Fat [as in body fat] Mass and Obesity-Associated).
The original identification was made when researchers were looking for ‘diabetes genes.’ FTO function is unclear, but widely expressed in body fat tissue and in regions of the brain involved in the regulation of energy balance. One FTO variant is associated with a 2-fold increased risk of weight gain and obesity, but this risk is reduced in physically active subjects.
Information is power.
Relentless Investment Alert
There is a Canadian company that tests for an FTO gene variant as part of a gene set that is intended to facilitate a reset, or a change, in behavior. Wouldn’t knowing that you carry the SNP aka ‘snip’ aka single-nucleotide polymorphism, activate a refreshed commitment to more than just step counting, but also weekly vigorous activity??
To fuel adoption and behavior change, Newtopia and Aetna published clinical results demonstrating individuals with metabolic syndrome, i.e. individuals at high risk of developing diabetes and heart disease, can put their risk in check with the Newtopia solution. The company now has years of data from engaged patients underscoring that their solution works!
Not only does Newtopia serve WellCare and the Canon Medical Group as representative customers, coincidentally they count jeans legend Levi’s as a corporate client.
We love personalized solutions, so we DID put a ring on it! Newtopia is a recent addition to our growing venture portfolio.
Relentless Accolades
Speaking of rings, we have a smooth transition to Olympic rings.
Congratulations to Relentless Pursuit Partners’ co-founder Simon Whitfield on his induction into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. In October, our 4x Olympian, Gold and Silver Olympic medalist in triathlon, became a member of the Class of 2019.
Relentless Quest
Team Relentless is dedicated to investing in preventative health and proactive technology solutions that optimize health, activity and longevity. Even if facing a chronic illness such as diabetes or heart disease, the Relentless team believes in the possibility of being vibrant and active at every age. And we believe that digital technologies are the ultimate enablers.