Prenetics, a Hong Kong-based, NASDAQ-listed health sciences company, has announced that former international footballer,

entrepreneur and philanthropist David Beckham has become a strategic investor in the business.

Prenetics said in a statement on Thursday that Prenetics and Beckham will become co-founding partners of a new health and wellness brand, IM8,

which will focus on cutting-edge consumer health products, with details to be announced at a later date.

“Throughout my life and career, I’ve been fortunate to have access to the best medical professionals, nutrition experts and fitness coaches.

Their guidance has been crucial to my health and well-being,

“That’s why I am excited to be working with Prenetics – a company that is dedicated to innovative, world-leading scientific advancements in health – as a co-founding partner and ambassador for IM8,” Beckham said.

Danny Yeung, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Prenetics, said that this partnership with Beckham marks a transformative era for Prenetics in global health innovation and wellness.

“Beckham epitomizes the values of discipline, teamwork and health, aligning perfectly with Prenetics’ core principles. Working closely with Beckham these past months, I’ve been consistently inspired by his vision for accessible health for all,

“His passion and commitment are truly extraordinary. With IM8, we have a unique opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the consumer health and wellness industry,” he added.

It is noted that Beckham has also spent time with Prenetics shareholder, Professor Dennis Lo, during which he has been impressed to learn about Professor Lo’s pioneering discovery of non-invasive prenatal testing in 1997 and current focus on early cancer detection.

These conversations have highlighted the significant potential of Prenetics’ innovations to impact global health and longevity.

Prenetics is a firm dedicated to advancing consumer and clinical health.

Its consumer initiative is led by IM8, a new health and wellness brand.

The firm’s clinical division is led by Insighta, a $200 million joint venture with renowned scientist Prof. Dennis Lo, focused on multi-cancer early detection technologies.

This is followed by ACT Genomics, which has achieved U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for comprehensive genomic profiling of solid tumors, and CircleDNA, which uses next-generation sequencing (NGS) to offer comprehensive deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) tests.

Beckham is one of England’s most successful footballers.

With a career spanning 20 years, he has played with some of the most successful clubs in the world, including Manchester United and Real Madrid, as well as the England team, which he captained for six years.

He was the first English player to have won league titles in four countries: England, Spain, the United States and France.

After retiring from playing in 2013, he established himself as a successful entrepreneur, working with many of the world’s leading brands including adidas, Stella Artois, Tudor, EA, and Nespresso.

In 2018, he fulfilled a life-long ambition to be an owner of a football club when his group was awarded the Major League Soccer Franchise for the city of Miami.

Inter Miami CF was officially announced in September 2018 with Beckham as President of the Club.

In 2019, he founded his own content studio, Studio 99. The studio operates both editorial and commercial production, and specializes in developing and producing premium documentary features, series and formats for global platforms and networks, including Netflix and Disney+.

In February 2022 Authentic Brands Group (Authentic), a unified platform that integrates merger and acquisition (M&A), brand strategy, creativity and digital innovation, announced that it had entered into a strategic partnership with Beckham to co-own and manage Beckham’s global brand.

In connection with the partnership, Beckham became a shareholder in Authentic.

He joined a roster of Authentic’s growing entertainment portfolio that includes some of the world’s most celebrated athletes and iconic sports brands such as Shaquille O’Neal, Sports Illustrated, and Muhammad Ali.