Diseases and conditions that affect millions typically have little trouble raising funds for cures or treatments. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. Orphan diseases are rare conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 people nationwide, according to the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, and are therefore less likely to receive difference-making research funding.

Following a family health scare, husband and wife team Louay and Hiba Fakhro decided to bridge this healthcare gap through their startup Omaroon.

“There’s a whole world of orphan conditions that are not able to receive the same services that more common diseases get,” said Louay Fakhro, chief technology officer at Omaroon. “How can you weigh one life over many lives? They should not be disenfranchised from receiving good healthcare, especially if we have the technology to address their needs.”

The Fakhros decided to first tackle a rare inherited disease called Phenylketonuria (PKU). With PKU, individuals cannot metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine — commonly found in protein and some artificial sweeteners — which can cause serious health problems, especially for infants in their first months of life. And while individuals with PKU can manage the disease with diet, according to Fakhro they are heavily reliant on blood tests that must be processed at labs and have an average turnaround time of about a week. This is hardly useful when phenylalanine levels can fluctuate throughout the day.

To better understand their customers’ specific needs and solidify their business plan, Omaroon sought entrepreneurial guidance from Samir Shreim, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of UCI startup Cactus Medical, and customer discovery assistance through the I-Corps program.

“We learned quite a bit in terms of customer discovery and how to orient our product,” said Fakhro. “If you saw what our original product was and what it has become, it has made quite a big transition over the years, especially during our time in the I-Corps program.”

Omaroon plans to provide individuals with PKU a higher quality of life by eliminating the need for lab-analyzed blood samples through the creation of a rapid at-home blood test system. Much like a glucose meter used by individuals with diabetes, Omaroon plans to create a simple test strip and test device system that requires only a drop of blood from a finger prick.

The startup has also received valuable guidance from Small Business Development Center consultants Molly Schmid, Ph.D., and Richard Creager, Ph.D., which helped them secure a $256,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant.

“Creating this testing device will require sophisticated and careful engineering,” said Schmid. “But success will have a huge impact on the individuals and families that must manage this rare disease for a lifetime.”

Omaroon, currently a resident at University Lab Partners, a biomedical wet lab incubator located on the third floor of the Cove @ UCI, is using the grant funding to develop a prototype of their technology.

Learn more about Omaroon.

Main Graphic: Kate Wokowsky