Sustainable Network raises £350K for HealthTech company Muhdo

Sustainable Network raises £350K for Muhdo: Taking Health Diagnostics One Step Further

We are all concerned with our health and well-being, but what if we were able to prevent health issues before they become detrimental to us? UK based genetic health and wellbeing company healthcare company, Muhdo, can do just that.

The focus on health and well-being has never been more prevalent than in the past few years. We all want to live long; healthy lives and the relevance of a healthy diet and regular exercise has spurred the development of a plethora of wearable tech devices. We can now record the number of steps we take, analyse our sleep patterns, test our blood pressure, monitor our diets, and check our calorie intake.

Muhdo’s epigenetics technology has taken health diagnostics one step further by providing individual users with access to preventative health care screening. Using a person’s DNA, and collecting objective genetic, epigenetic, health and lifestyle data, Muhdo can help individuals reduce the risk of future adverse health issues, whilst providing them with the tools and knowledge required to enable a healthier lifestyle.

Founded in 2016, the Muhdo team hails from a variety of backgrounds, across Nutritional Genomics, Professional Sport and NHS Consultancy, Corporate Finance and Media. In a short space of time, Muhdo has grown rapidly and now has over 60 global partners, in 15 countries across Europe, Asia and the United States and is also available in nine different languages. So what exactly does Muhdo do?

A health screening alternative

Muhdo helps to simplify the first piece in your health puzzle, namely your DNA, which is the foundation for wellbeing. Through a simple saliva analysis, Muhdo offers their users a health screening alternative. Each one of us is unique, with our own genetic code which means a ‘one size fits all’ methodology for health is not enough. By analysing our DNA we can better understand our individual dietary and nutritional needs, which type of exercise is best suited to us and whether we are likely to lack certain vitamins or minerals, among other things.

Once a DNA sample has been received, Muhdo analyses it in their laboratory, it is then interpreted by their team of experts in sports science, nutrition, and health, who will advise options and actions available based on the results. This information is then fed back directly to the user's mobile phone via a user-friendly app and dashboard. In the case of diet and nutrition, DNA analysis can provide answers on things such as if you are sensitive to weight gain due to simple carbohydrate intake; how well your body uses protein or whether unsaturated fats decrease your fat mass, even if your calorie intake increases.

Epigenetics Technology

Muhdo is also pioneering the new science of epigenetics. Epigenetics controls how your genes behave. Your genetic makeup is fixed at birth however you can affect your epigenetics through your lifestyle. It is the intersection between genetics, nutrition, and environment and how diet, micronutrients, exercise, and sleep can all change the expression of your genes. Where tiny chemical markers called methyl groups will attach to your DNA.

As we naturally age, these methyl groups will either hypo (low) or hyper (high) methylate regions across your genome, which will then affect how specific genes and biological process's function, such as your eyesight, hearing, and memory.

As with DNA testing, a simple saliva sample is all that is required for Epigenetic analysis. It enables you to periodically track how your lifestyle and environment are affecting your genes and the rate at which you are ageing by defining your true ‘biological age'. Unlike your chronological age which is the exact number of years you have been alive, your biological age is the true reflection of how your cells are ageing. Your biological age and internal health can be affected by your diet, exercise, lifestyle, and environment.

Muhdo is the first company in the world to offer an epigenetics profiling programme direct to consumers for monitoring epigenetics on a regular basis. The inspiration behind Muhdo was to provide hyper-personalised health and fitness content to improve health – you can’t get any more personalised than your genes – and by overlaying periodic, epigenetic testing to measure changes in biological age over time, their offering now fulfils the goal of helping users slow down or reverse the ageing process.

Health is inextricably linked to wealth and the future health of populations will be a critical factor in improving productivity and shaping our economic resilience and prosperity ahead. Muhdo’s activities and developments are aligned to building effective and sustainable health care solutions around the world, improving millions of lives, reducing the need for clinical intervention.

Muhdo Health testing kits are available through a wide range of UK partners including Holland & Barrett and David Lloyd.

Muhdo and Sustainable Network

When Muhdo’s digital health care solution secured significant contracts from large blue-chip corporations and Governments in the last quarter of 2021, they began negotiations on a series A investment from a U.S healthcare group. Muhdo wanted to place legacy EIS shares to cover cash flow as a bridge until their next round of fundraising.

Sustainable Network had already been aware of Muhdo’s presence in the medical sector for some time when they were approached by a member of Muhdo’s own network for discussions on raising the £350K bridge round they required.

“At Sustainable Network we understand the importance of matching businesses with the right investors, who are truly aligned with the company's vision and add additional commercial value where possible,” says Matthew Cook, CEO of Sustainable Network.

By reaching out to its network of investors, Sustainable Network was able to organise investor roundtable meetings with a select number of angel investors who were actively looking for investment opportunities in the digital healthcare space.

“The team at Sustainable Network is extremely well connected and very professional – we achieved our capital raise target in a matter of weeks after just a few presentations to small groups of engaged, polite and genuinely interested investors,” explains Richard Layton– CFO of Muhdo.

Sustainable Network was able to secure the full £350,000 of investment over a three-week period providing Muhdo with sufficient funds to continue operating while the Series A raise went through.

“Working with Sustainable Network to raise additional funds for our business was a fast and painless experience – which is not a description normally associated with the usual grind of capital raising,“ said Nathan Berkley – Muhdo’s CEO.