Reliance Industries to launch Rs 12,000 DNA testing kit

Reliance Industries is entering the field of genetic mapping in an effort to spread and lower the cost of a health care trend being driven by innovative American businesses like 23andMe, in India's expanding consumer market.

According to Ramesh Hariharan, CEO of Strand Life Sciences Pvt. who talked to ET - which created the product - the energy-to-ecommerce giant would launch a thorough Rs 12,000 ($145) genome sequencing test in the coming weeks. The Bengaluru-based company was purchased by Reliance Industries Ltd. in 2021, which now owns around 80% of it.

The genome test can disclose a person's propensity for malignancies, cardiac and neuro-degenerative diseases, as well as identify inherited genetic problems, he said. It is also around 86% less expensive than other options accessible locally.

The initiative to make personal gene-mapping accessible to India's 1.4 billion citizens, who are on track to become the world's most populated country, may produce a wealth of biological information that may help with the region's medication development and illness prevention. 

It also fits in with Mukesh Ambani's plans to expand his data-related endeavors, which he has frequently referred to as the 'new oil,' as he transitions his $192 billion business from the refining industry to consumer and digital services.

Pricing disruption is natural to Ambani, who used a similar aggressive tactic when it entered the retail industry in 2006 and the telecommunications industry in 2016, crushing rivals until Reliance became the market leader in both industries.

According to a survey from Allied Market Research, the global market for genetic testing was estimated to be worth $12.7 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $21.3 billion by 2027.

Nevertheless, in a market like India where understanding of such services and their advantages is still largely unproven, cheap pricing alone might not be sufficient to entice customers. Reliance's $145 price tag, while less expensive than its international competitors, is nevertheless high for the average Indian consumer.

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