Circadian biology and origins
German startup TimeTeller has developed a saliva test kit designed to help people understand their circadian rhythm. The company is led by CEO Angela Relógio, a physicist-engineer and molecular biologist who researched oncology, circadian biology, and systems medicine in Germany before leaving academia.
Relógio developed the test after observing cancer patients stopping or starting treatments due to side effects. Convinced that treatment timing is as critical as the treatment itself, she personally funded the startup’s first patent. The company initially spun out of Berlin’s Charité university hospital before moving to Medical School Hamburg, which provided access to patients, funding, and employment safety nets for the team of 10.
Clinical goals and direct-to-consumer testing
While TimeTeller’s long-term mission centers on oncology—aiming to time cancer treatments to individual internal clocks to reduce side effects and improve efficacy—Relógio emphasizes that the direct-to-consumer kit cannot calculate treatment timing independently. According to Relógio, specific medication calculations require clinical studies.
The startup began accepting direct orders due to demand from longevity clinics, which utilize individual circadian data to provide personalized advice regarding sleep, nutrition, light exposure, and physical activity. Beyond cancer, the technology could potentially apply to metabolic diseases such as diabetes, neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s, women’s health, and performance.
Insurance partnership and expansion
TimeTeller secured a cofounder in biochemist and market access specialist Benjamin Dose and established a partnership with Techniker Krankenkasse, one of Germany’s major health insurance providers. The collaboration initially began as a reimbursement arrangement covering test costs for a subset of cancer patients, and both parties are preparing to expand the agreement to more of the insurer’s 12 million members.