David Beckham is ‘strategic investor’ in Hong Kong’s Prenetics to set up IM8 health brand

David Beckham has become a shareholder of Prenetics, as the English former footballer and businessman makes a “strategic” investment to co-launch a health and wellness brand called IM8 with the Hong Kong genetic profiling services provider.

IM8 will focus on “cutting-edge” consumer health products, the Nasdaq-listed Prenetics said in a statement, without divulging the financial details of Beckham’s investment. Details of IM8’s products will be announced at an unspecified date later, the company said.

“Throughout my life and career, I’ve been fortunate to have access to the best medical professionals, nutrition experts, and fitness coaches. Their guidance has been crucial to my health and well-being,” Beckham said in a statement. “I am excited to be partnering with Prenetics – a company that is dedicated to innovative, best-in-class scientific advancements in health.”

The partnership marks a “transformative era” for Prenetics in global health innovation and wellness, said the company’s co-founder and chief executive Danny Yeung, adding that Beckham’s display of discipline, teamwork, and health are aligned with Prenetics’ core principles.

Prenetics said Beckham has met with its shareholder Dennis Lo Yuk-ming, director of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences and professor of chemical pathology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“This meeting highlighted the significant potential of Prenetics’ innovations to impact global health and longevity,” Prenetics said.

In 1997, Lo discovered the presence of fetal DNA in maternal plasma, making it possible for subsequent pioneering use of such markers for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis.

He also pioneered a number of approaches to cancer liquid biopsy, especially for the detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and the screening of multiple types of cancer.

Founded a decade ago, Prenetics has grown from a small Hong Kong genetic testing laboratory to a company that also offers cancer type screening services that help doctors prescribe targeted therapies to treat specific types of cancer. It also has operations in the UK, Taiwan, Japan and Southeast Asia.

In 2022, it bought most of Taiwan-based ACT Genomics, which offers genomic tests to improve patients’ outcomes through cancer diagnosis, treatment and monitoring.

Prenetics established a US$200 million venture last July at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park to develop and commercialise Lo’s patented breakthrough multi-cancer early detection technology called “FRAGMA”.

The venture, called Insighta, aims to provide clinically administered blood tests for early-stage cancer cells in the liver, lungs, and other organs.

Prenetics’ net loss narrowed to US$64.8 million last year, from US$190.5 million in 2022, as revenue grew 65 per cent to US$21.7 million.