About this episode
Ken Chahine , founder and CEO at Nectar Life Sciences on your radar. Ken has a fascinating story: a child of immigrant parents, neither of whom finished elementary school, he earned a PhD in Biochemistry (U of Michigan) and a JD in patent law. After transforming the field of genetic testing for genealogy as General Manager of Ancestry DNA , he founded Nectar, a health tech company revolutionizing the allergy space with at-home allergy testing and treatment with sublingual drops . In grad school, Ken suffered from severe allergies that made lab work in goggles near-impossible. When he discovered the healthcare system’s solution for chronic allergy sufferers is constant medications (average = 3 meds per day) and/or painful, inconvenient shots, he knew there had to be a better way. Just a sample of what Ken can elaborate on: First-hand experience with allergies as a chronic condition and advocating for the consumer Long-term benefits of at-home allergy testing + treatment Why sublingual (under the tongue) treatment is already standard in Europe as a safer alternative to subcutaneous (shots) How he transitioned into the allergy space after revolutionizing the genetic science behind Ancestry.com Predictions for holistic approaches in the healthcare space