TimeTeller: a saliva test that times therapy to your biological clock
Key points
Key takeaways from the TechCrunch pitch by Angela Relógio, engineer, PhD and CEO/co-founder of Charité spin-off TimeTeller (October 2026):
The problem. Many effective therapies are abandoned because patients cannot tolerate them: cancer side effects stop some patients from continuing, and around half of GLP-1 patients stop therapy within a year. For pharma, a drug that cannot be tolerated loses medical and economic value.
The insight. Everyone has an internal clock (recognised with the 2017 Nobel Prize) that dictates not just sleep and wake but also the best time to take a therapy. TimeTeller measures that clock with a simple saliva test: RNA from saliva is analysed in the lab in about a day, then mathematical modelling and AI reconstruct the person's 24-hour biological rhythm.
Evidence. In an ovarian-cancer study across 10 German hospitals, patients treated at the same wall-clock time felt very different toxicities; dosing timed to the patient's individual clock led to five times better tolerability and double survival — same drug, same patient, different time.
Status. The technology is IP-protected and CE-marked and the product is already on the market, premiering at TechCrunch. The company has reimbursement from the largest German health system (12 million insured), once per year per patient; it is a complementary, non-high-risk product that does not change the drug, and patients can buy directly with the insurer paying TimeTeller. The consumer profile also covers sleep, meals, strength and endurance training and daylight exposure.
Business model. One platform, two models: healthcare (reimbursed testing; lab licensing for longevity, fitness and corporate health) and pharma (drug-specific licensing to increase tolerability and adherence). Adjacent markets total $62B+ including GLP-1 therapies, female health, corporate health and longevity. Goal: 460,000+ kits sold and $123M revenue by 2031; raising €10M for commercialisation and business development.
Why it matters. TimeTeller shifts from a wellness clock to precision medicine based on time, and aims to lead personalised time medicine globally as part of the European network defining standards for cancer chronotherapy.
Read more: TechCrunch
