Inside the Mind of a Nutraceutical CEO: Leena Pradhan-Nabzdyk on navigating Genomics, Bioinformatics, and AI for Health and Wellness.

After a couple of turbulent yet exciting weeks, I'm back with a fantastic feature.

I am honoured to be joined by Leena Pradhan-Nabzdyk, PhD, MBA CEO and Co-Founder of Canomiks .

Canomiks provides a genomics, bioinformatics and AI-based Product Superiority Platform that enables companies within the functional food and beverage and dietary supplement industries to create safe and efficacious products.

Their Mission: To Bring Truth, Transparency, and Trust to Functional Ingredients. Their Vision: To Make Food as Medicine a Reality.

Here's what we asked:

Can you share some insights from your journey as the CEO of Canomiks in the genomics, bioinformatics, and AI-based product superiority space? What inspired you to lead a company in this niche?

I grew up in India around traditional medicine. My mother and grandmother were big proponents of ayurvedic medicine and in our house, we used it for treating a variety of ailments from simple colds to toothaches to tummy aches.?

After receiving my PhD in Pharmacology, I was more focused on western medicine and researching therapeutic targets and medical devices. But in the last decade I started noticing that the traditional medicine I grew up with, called alternative medicine in the western world, had started to become popular. People all around were using natural products and traditional medicine to maintain health and wellness.?

My co-founder Dr. Manoj Bhasin, an expert in genomics and bioinformatics, also grew up in India with similar experiences. He was already part of a research group that was investigating the effects of meditation as an alternative medicine therapy for different clinical outcomes. So together we started researching alternative medicine, natural product space especially the ones that used botanical functional ingredients to maintain health and wellness. What we learned was that there is a lot of knowledge around these old traditional medicines, and we know they work. However, there was very little research around how these ingredients work, or their efficacy mechanisms. And so, we decided to put our expertise together and use genomics and bioinformatics to answer those questions and launched Canomiks. At Canomiks, our solutions provide end-to-end genomics, bioinformatics, and AI focused solutions to help develop, validate, and test formulations and ingredients that use botanical and other functional ingredients in their products. This includes dietary supplements, functional beverages, and foods or cosmoceuticals. Since most of these functional ingredients are considered foods, we set our vision To Make Food as Medicine a Reality?.?

What key lessons have you learned about the intersection of science and business in these sectors, and how have these lessons shaped your leadership approach?

As a biomedical scientist you are focused on discovery followed by development and testing of medicines and devices. Only after a product is found to be safe and effective one can commercialize it. But if your scientific discovery and product, however safe and effective does not have a market need, it is doomed to fail commercially. Therefore, both product development and commercialization have to go hand-in-hand. Then there are other aspects of the business such as product pipeline strategy, partnerships with vendors, including manufacturers and marketers, partnerships with distributors and finally and most importantly the relationship with consumers. In the past in the dietary supplements and functional beverage space, the market drove product development and distribution. Science often was an afterthought. However, this is changing, and science is now becoming an integral part of the business strategy. This helps companies to mitigate their business risks, differentiate their products and gain their consumers’ trust. What I have personally learned from my experience is that it is important to talk to all stakeholders in your industry, even the ones you do not directly interact with but your service or your product impacts. Take the feedback seriously and then plan your development strategy. In fact, one of our services, CanTrust by Canomiks ingredient certification is being developed based on the feedback we received from our customers.

As a successful CEO, you've likely encountered various challenges along the way. Can you highlight a particular challenge you've faced and the strategies you employed to overcome it?

In the very early stages of Canomiks, our strategy was focused on using our GeneTune? formulation development technology for bringing novel dietary supplements and functional beverages to the market. Soon we realized that our backgrounds were in western medicine, and we understood very little about the functional ingredient and products industry. And as I mentioned earlier, the dietary supplements and functional beverage industry is driven more by marketing. We were three scientists with little marketing experience. Moreover, we wanted a big vision and wanted to create a big impact.?

We soon realized that the biggest impact we could make was by bringing our knowledge and scientific expertise to this vast industry. So, we quickly pivoted and started marketing our research services to companies that are ethical, want to use the most cutting edge technology in their product development, and want the best products for their consumers. We had to quickly find the right partners to provide our services.?

Our backgrounds in the life sciences industry helped us get through those early challenges and now we have become one of the go-to-science companies in the industry. The most important lesson I learnt from this experience was that start with something that you know the best and have the most experience in and then as you learn, you can always change strategy.?

Canomiks leverages AI and genomics to optimize product development. How do you see the future of AI and genomics evolving in the functional food and dietary supplement industries, and what role does Canomiks play in shaping this future?

The advancements in computing and data management have really revolutionized how decisions are made, whether personal or in business. All the data that is out there is now being made useful. At a click of a button and by simple keyword searches, you are presented with lots of information and options. The same goes for the functional food and dietary supplements industry.?

At Canomiks the data that we curate around functional ingredients and their effect on human genes goes through our GeneTune? AI-based technology to design optimal formulations targeting certain wellness conditions. Our National Science Foundation funded CanTrust by Canomiks ingredient testing technology platform uses AI to test ingredients for their efficacy for every batch. Others in the industry are using it for developing novel ingredients or identifying novel molecules from plants.?

Also, companies that were not traditionally in this industry but are experts in genomics and AI are entering the market. And we are one of them. Overall, it is a wonderful time to be in this industry.

Many aspiring CEOs look up to experienced leaders like yourself for guidance. What advice would you give to budding CEOs who are just starting their entrepreneurial journey in the fields of genomics, bioinformatics, or AI-based solutions for the food and beverage industry?

For budding entrepreneurs, the most important advice would be to stay humble, listen to your stakeholders, get them involved in your product development, keep innovating, and keep your consumer at the centre of your product development.?

Technology is exciting, financial gains can be huge but do not compromise on your values for quick gains. Build your brand around your values. Lastly, keep working hard and treat your employees well. Success will follow.

I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Leena Pradhan-Nabzdyk for sharing her invaluable insights and experiences with us today. Her journey as the CEO of Canomiks in the ever-evolving fields of genomics, bioinformatics, and AI-based solutions for the health and wellness industry is truly inspiring.

Through her vision and leadership, Canomiks is paving the way for truth, transparency, and trust in the functional food and dietary supplement industries. Their commitment to making "Food as Medicine" a reality is not only visionary but also vital for the well-being of countless individuals.

Dr. Pradhan-Nabzdyk's reflections on the intersection of science and business serve as a guiding light for aspiring entrepreneurs. Her emphasis on staying true to one's values, keeping consumers at the forefront, and embracing innovation resonates deeply in a world where technology and data are driving transformative changes.

Dr. Leena Pradhan-Nabzdyk offers sage advice: Stay humble, listen intently, innovate relentlessly, and never compromise on your values. As she aptly reminds us, success will inevitably follow such a principled and forward-thinking approach.

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