Mayo Clinic-backed gut microbiome startup DayTwo Ltd., has released the details of a Series A funding round in which it has received an investment from the Rochester institution.

As first reported by TCB, Mayo’s Center for Individualized Medicine revealed in December that the clinic made a financial investment in the Israeli company, which is seeking to commercialize what it touts as the first-ever “actionable health solution” based on personalized readings of patients’ gut bacteria.

Last week, DayTwo released the details of the funding: The Tel Aviv company collected $12 million in financing led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Seventure Partners' Health for Life Capital fund, Mayo Clinic, company co-founder Marius Nacht and other private investors.

DayTwo CEO Lihi Segal said the latest investment brings DayTwo's total funding to $17 million. The proceeds are being used to “expand the company's product, engineering, and data science teams in Tel Aviv and San Francisco.”

Mayo and DayTwo previously announced a collaboration on using microbiome data to produce individualized diet and wellness regimens for patients. The effort is meant to overcome the conundrum of why similar therapies work for some patients and not for others. The relationship is designed to move DayTwo’s Personalized Nutrition Solution through clinical trials—to be managed by Mayo—and into the U.S. market.

The press release included a statement from Nicholas Chia, a Mayo medical professor and member of its Center for Individualized Medicine, who said, the nutrition solution will be “different and special,” going beyond the informational offerings now on the market “which are neither evidence-based, clinically proven, or actionable.

“DayTwo will help people act upon a healthier, personalized diet, based on accurately predicting postprandial glycemic response.”

The startup’s tech platform taps medical and machine-learning research performed at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, led by scientific cofounders Eran Segal and Dr. Eran Elinav. The result was the development of an algorithm for predicting individualized blood glucose response to different foods based on gut microbiome information and other personal parameters. 

The algorithm was further refined by DayTwo and the Weizmann Institute, and the company asserts it can now predict blood sugar response to thousands of different foods and meals.

Once it gains market clearance, it will be marketed as a “significant health benefit” for those seeking to balance their levels of blood sugar, which is linked to energy dips, excessive hunger, weight gain, and increased risk for diseases like obesity, diabetes and hypertension.