54gene, the health technology company advancing African genomics research for improved global health outcomes, has secured $25 million in a Series B round, led by Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund.
The round also included participation from Adjuvant Capital, KdT Ventures, Plexo Capital, Endeavor Capital, Ingressive Capital and others. This round brings the company’s total investment to date to more than $45 million since being founded in 2019.
The new capital raised will be deployed to expand 54gene’s capabilities in sequencing, target identification and validation, and precision medicine clinical trials enabling drug discovery in Africa for both Africans and the global population. The new capital will also enable the company to begin its expansion across the African continent.
To help with this new expansion of its life science business, 54gene has made several strategic senior appointments:
Colm O’Dushlaine has been appointed Vice President – Genomics and Data Science. He joins with over 18 years experience in statistical genetics of large-scale datasets and was formerly at Regeneron Genetic Centre and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.
Peter Fekkes has been appointed Vice President – Drug Discovery. He developed and led drug discovery programs at Novartis, FogPharma and H3 Biosciences.
Teresia Bost who was appointed General Counsel, joins with over 20 years experience in healthcare where she held various senior counsel roles at Celgene. She was VP and Associate General Counsel at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and General Counsel at Quartet Health.
Jude Uzonwanne, who was appointed Chief Business Officer, was formerly a partner at IQVIA, ZS Associates and held multiple roles at the Monitor Group, Bain and Company, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
CEO, 54gene, Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong, said: “It’s truly incredible to witness the impact of African scientists in global research and it is critical to global health that this continues. We want to scale our contribution to global drug discovery by extensively developing life science capabilities on the continent and this additional capital will catalyse our endeavors.”
According to Ene-Obong, “In this round we have brought in partners that keep us true to our mission of equalizing healthcare and who can help us replicate our success throughout Africa. We believe the world will benefit from an African global drug discovery company that leverages the deep insights found in genomics research in diverse populations and ensures true equity for the African population. It’s exciting to see our company shift into the next gear as it targets becoming one of the top global companies in genomics research.”
54gene will also be expanding its genomics and molecular diagnostics division across Africa, ensuring that African patients get access to accurate diagnostics and enabling the application of precision medicine in the clinical setting throughout the continent.
To lead this new business unit, the company has brought in Michelle Ephraim, as General Manager Diagnostics Pan-Africa. Michelle has held various sales leadership roles across Africa for Leica Biosystems, PerkinElmer, and Merck Millipore.
Partner at Cathay AfricInvest, Yassine Oussaifi, said: “As a pioneer in genomic and precision medicine in Nigeria, 54gene has built a unique health technology platform leveraging African resources to unlock scientific discoveries for the benefit of African and global
communities.”
Thisday