German startup TimeTeller has developed a saliva test kit designed to help individuals understand their circadian rhythm. The company's long-term aim is to reduce side effects from cancer treatments and potentially improve outcomes by timing treatment to each patient's internal clock.
Angela Relógio, CEO of TimeTeller, stated that the direct-to-consumer kit will not enable patients to determine optimal cancer treatment timing independently. This calculation needs to be done for each medicine within the context of clinical studies.
TimeTeller began accepting direct orders due to demand from longevity clinics, which use individual circadian rhythm data for personalized advice on sleep, nutrition, light exposure, and physical activity. The company has also secured a partnership with Techniker Krankenkasse, a large German health insurance provider, which initially covered the cost of the test for a subset of cancer patients. Both parties are now preparing to expand this to more of the insurer's 12 million members.