Jona, a New York-based gut microbiome testing startup, emerged from stealth with $5 million in funding. The company's at-home microbiome profiling kit educates users about how the community of microorganisms residing in their gut impacts their overall health. The platform also offers recommendations concerning diet and lifestyle modifications based on users’ personal health goals.
A mere five months after an FBI raid, the San Francisco startup, once valued at $600 million, has filed for bankruptcy. It will continue to offer its microbiome test while also looking for a buyer.
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.