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Obesity precision medicine company Phenomix Sciences raised $7.8 million in fundraising and grants, CEO Mark Bagnall tells Axios exclusively.

Why it matters: A personalized approach might help unlock insights into how patients respond to new — but expensive — weight loss drugs like GLP-1s.

Zoom in: Out of the funding, $5.5 million was a Series A from a mix of new investors including Dexcom and Labcorp, plus insider Health2047.

Phenomix also received a $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

What we're watching: "We want to hold this round open through July to add additional investors and raise another $4 million," Bagnall tells Axios.

How it works: Founded in 2017 and based in Minnesota, Phenomix offers a saliva test or buccal swab test supported by an AI-driven algorithm to provide a pathophysiological phenotype for obesity patients.

The company's MyPhenome tests, which retail at about $500 and aren't covered by insurance, deliver results in two to three weeks. Phenotypes include hungry gut, hungry brain and emotional hunger.

Phenomix sells its tests to obesity-focused clinician offices, with 40 customers now and "70 or 80 in the pipeline," Bagnall says.

Phenomix is also in conversations with obesity-focused pharmaceutical and device companies, and it's working with leading obesity drug manufacturers, he adds. He declined to disclose specific company names.

What he's saying: "We can't afford to fall behind in this fast-moving space, so we are prioritizing growth over profitability right now," Bagnall says.

"I would say if we were not in obesity, I might have a different answer."

Between the lines: Despite soaring demand for GLP-1s, certain patients may do better with older and cheaper treatments for obesity.

State of play: Obesity and weight management, as well as precision medicine, have seen a funding boom.

Sano Genetics, a software platform to facilitate precision medicine-powered clinical trials, raised $11.4 million in funding.

Obesity and weight management platform Ilant Health extended its seed round by $2.5 million.

Virtual provider for cardio-metabolic health 9am Health raised $9.5 million in Series A extension.

In-person and virtual weight management company Knownwell raised $20 million in Series A funding.

Exclusive: Phenomix scores $7.8M for obesity precision medicine

Precision medicine in obesity could unlock insights into how patients respond to GLP-1s.

an illustration of a DNA strand made out of two measuring tapes

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Obesity precision medicine company Phenomix Sciences raised $7.8 million in fundraising and grants, CEO Mark Bagnall tells Axios exclusively.Why it matters: A personalized approach might help unlock insights into how patients respond to new — but <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="expensive" data-vars-click-url="https://link.axios.com/click/35402190.29/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tLzIwMjQvMDQvMjkvd2VpZ2h0LWxvc3MtZHJ1Z3MtY29zdC1nbHAtMT91dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2VuZHRvX3Byb25ld3NsZXR0ZXJ0ZXN0JnN0cmVhbT10b3A/63d7efa24889932dcb08ba1cBfb14b0bd" data-vars-content-id="8580dc40-a925-48ec-83c1-cc3491d211ef" data-vars-headline="Exclusive: Phenomix scores $7.8M for obesity precision medicine" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://link.axios.com/click/35402190.29/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tLzIwMjQvMDQvMjkvd2VpZ2h0LWxvc3MtZHJ1Z3MtY29zdC1nbHAtMT91dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2VuZHRvX3Byb25ld3NsZXR0ZXJ0ZXN0JnN0cmVhbT10b3A/63d7efa24889932dcb08ba1cBfb14b0bd" target="_self">expensive</a> — weight loss drugs like GLP-1s.

Exclusive: Phenomix scores $7.8M for obesity precision medicine

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