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EZZ Life focuses on genomics to develop targeted treatments
By Leon Gettler, Talking Business >>
EZZ Life Science, an Australian life sciences company, is now spearheading a push into personalised medical treatment based on people’s DNA, utilising the science of genomics.
EZZ Life listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in March 2021 and its core business was to produce and distribute consumer health products. EZZ Life has been the exclusive distributor for a range of skincare products to pharmacies, markets and retailers in Australia and New Zealand and it also has an e-commerce business in China for skin care and consumer health care products. 
It has now become a true life sciences company by entering the field of genomics. EZZ Life has equipment and processes to look at people’s DNA and determining whether there are problems with the genetic code that may cause disease or serious birth defects.
EZZ Life chairman, Glenn Cross said the company is looking at genomics to personalise treatment. This was based on research from case studies and medical data.
“We’ve known that three people may have lung cancer and they’re treated with the gold standard drug at the moment and, out of those three people, only one person may respond to it,” Mr Cross told Talking Business.
“So it’s based on your own personal DNA, whether you respond to specific treatment regimes.
“It’s a really growing sector of health care and quite frankly, sometime in the future, all of us will have genomic testing and we’ll be taking personalised treatment as part of our standard health care tool box.”
Focus on human health threats
EZZ Life is focusing on areas such as longevity, human papilloma virus (HPV) and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) which is a type of bacterium that can live in the lining of the stomach.
Mr Cross said a large proportion of people in China have H. pylori and HPV has become “quite prevalent” across western society.
“We’re going to focus on those two areas in terms of our diagnostic testing and the products that we will roll out progressively will be a treatment aid for those diseases,” he said.
“This is good for society in general. Just the health care costs in general [are on the rise] in our western society. Genomic testing can lower the cost of treatment significantly as we move forward over the next decade.”
Collaborative approach
Mr Cross said EZZ, in addition to its own research, was partnering with different organisations to develop genomic testing.
“The team has been working for some time talking to specific research groups,” he said. “We’ve also been talking to potential partners for the diagnostic testing and we’ve also been talking to potential health care partners, both medical people and potentially hospitals as well.
“We wouldn’t do all of this by ourselves. Our focus will be more on the products we believe may be used in the treatment regimes.”
Mr Cross said a lot of the research was now happening in Australia in this area of medicine and health treatment.
He said Australia and New Zealand were still the core markets for all of EZZ’s products.
“But our growing business in China, our e-commerce business for our health supplements and our beauty products offers us an opportunity to market these products.”
Mr Cross said the e-commerce chains EZZ Life had developed would market the genomics products into China.
Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness.
