Longevity is within reach!
By Thierry Piolatto
The building is discreet, enigmatic, just like the company’s logo, but it still has the “wow” factor. Come and step into the realm of longevity, into the headquarters of Zoï, one of France’s most promising start-ups.
The interior design is impressive: a blend of wood, some very dark spaces, some lighter, carefully designed treatment booths and consultation rooms. The whole building has been transformed to offer a unique experience with a “Gattaca” feel. You will not bump into any other patients during your visit, as the appointments are scheduled one after the other. The “bathing” area is spectacular: it houses a sauna, a hammam, a cabin with artificial snow and even an ice bath, and the ambient aroma changes from room to room, just like the lighting, creating a kind of signature for the assessments performed.
Do not be mistaken: Zoï is neither a clinic nor a doctor’s office, but rather a centre for preventative analysis, with the aim of obtaining biological data. The scans, blood pressure checks, glycation tests, microbiota analysis, hearing tests, thyroid assessments, doppler scanners, abdominal assessments, heart rate variability analysis, visual acuity tests, etc. all complement preventive medical care. “We have a highly equipped imaging centre that is unique in Europe and with which we are breaking new ground in France, such as with our NewTom 7G, a CBCT device that allows us to obtain accurate information about the bone tissue as well as the body’s microstructures,” explains Dr Claude Dalle.
In the middle of your experience, you get your first reward: a superfood snack concocted by Alain Ducasse, followed by a meeting with one of Zoï’s consultant doctors (seven doctors are currently available), who will examine you from head to toe for around twenty minutes and then guide you through the treatment process by drawing up a year-long action plan with you.
The keystone: check-ups
The patient can conduct some of the tests beforehand, thanks to the Zoï box that allows them to collect their fluids (saliva, urine), though the blood tests are performed in the centre. And before they can enter Zoï Vendôme (a stone’s throw from the famous Parisian square), they have to fill out a long questionnaire on the website (around 800 questions), which is the start of a process that lasts a minimum of one year, or more if they so wish (some patients reportedly paid 3,600 euros for one year [Ed.: this is fairly reasonable, compared with other countries]). The process begins with a check-up: the company’s base line.
You have to understand that Zoï is a company that deals with health but also data science, without which it is becoming impossible to address the many parameters we need to consider nowadays. It also represents a huge amount of knowledge, accumulated over the years by its founders, which has been coded and made available to as many people as possible. The customised protocol was drawn up by a specialist medical committee that includes Dr Claude Dalle, an anti-aging doctor, Prof Sofiane Bendifallah, a gynaecological surgeon and expert in oncology and endometriosis, Dr Claude Boscher, an ophthalmologist and retina specialist, Prof Bruno Dubois, a neurologist and professor of medicine at La Pitié-Salpêtrière, Prof Claude Pichard, a professor of nutrition, Dr Joël Spiroux de Vendômois, a doctor, researcher and environmental health consultant, Prof Gabriel Steg, head of the cardiology department at Bichat hospital, Dr Elsa Ukkola Pons, a radiologist, and Prof Eric Vibert, a professor of digestive surgery and liver transplantation. An impressive 35 assessments are offered, covering 200 biomarkers. “We wanted to detect any illnesses but also identify all of the body’s weaknesses. Our challenge was to offer 95% of the examinations required for a complete check-up in one place.” [Ed.: Not all of the tests have been approved in France, such as genetic sequencing (epigenetics is possible)].
What happens next: follow-up care
The initial check-up is essential, but the follow-up care is even more important.
This is where the Zoï app takes over, granting access to personalised advice, useful recommendations, medical treatments ( Zoï puts patients in contact with other specialists, if required, as the company does not perform any treatments in-house), dietary habits to adopt, etc. According to the founders, 80% of illnesses can be avoided by adopting a healthier lifestyle. The advanced processing of the data collected means that the follow-up care can be ultra-personalised.
Is Zoï the next unicorn of the anti-aging market?
This French start-up started out with an impressive amount of capital, having raised 50 million euros. Alongside its three founders –Ismaël Emelien, Paul Dupuy and Dr Claude Dalle – are Stéphane Bancel, Jean-Claude Marian, Alain Ducasse, Xavier Niel, Rodolphe Saadé and Jean Moueix. This business model is set to flourish in France, with new centres opening abroad, such as in the United States, a country in which competition in the longevity sector is already fierce. Let’s hope this business becomes a unicorn in the near future! l
Adress: Zoï Vendôme
12 Rue Volney, 75002 Paris
More: Zoï.com
