54Gene Closed A $25 Million Series B Funding Round To Advance Drug Discovery Through Clinical Trials
54Gene closed a $25 million Series B funding round to advance drug discovery through clinical trials
54Gene, a Nigerian health technology company, has announced the completion of a $25 million Series B funding round led by Accel Partners. Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, a venture capital firm focused on Africa, was the lead investor in the round.
Other investors who took part in the round include existing investors such as Adjuvant Capital, Ingressive Capital, and KdT Ventures, as well as new investors such as Plexo Capital, Endeavor Capital, and other venture capital firms.
In January 2019, Abasi Ene-Obong (CEO), Damilola Oni, Gatumi Aliyu and Ogochukwu Francis Osifo launched 54Gene, a company that provides testing and molecular diagnostics services to people in the African continent.
TIME magazine has predicted that the startup will have a significant impact on the world of public health and medical science in the 2020s. The startup is currently collaborating with over 300 researchers, clinicians, and geneticists from across Africa to establish and maintain an African biobank.
Using the African genetic data sets to make ground breaking
Researchers can use the African genetic data sets contained in this biobank to make ground-breaking discoveries in support of therapeutic development.
Announcing the completion of a state-of-the-art lab in Nigeria that will be capable of performing human whole-genome sequencing in December 2020, the company stated that the lab would be operational by the end of the year. This new lab, which is the first of its kind in Africa, allows for the sequencing, genotyping, and analysis of African samples stored in the lab's biobank without the need to ship the samples overseas. This will lower the costs of testing as well as the turnaround time for results.
The startup appears to be putting more emphasis on new drug discovery at the moment. While the startup claims that the new capital will be used to expand its capabilities in sequencing, target identification, and validation, it also claims that the money will be used for precision medicine clinical trials in Africa, enabling drug discovery for both Africans and the global population.
In the words of the organization's CEO, Abasi Ene-Obong, "it is truly incredible to witness African scientists having an impact on global research," and "it is critical to global health that this continues." The development of extensive life science capabilities on the continent will enable us to scale our contribution to global drug discovery, and this additional capital will help us to achieve our goals.
As a result of the new capital, the company will be able to begin its expansion throughout the African continent.
54Gene raised $4.5 million in seed funding in July 2019, followed by a $15 million round of series A funding in April of the following year. With this latest round of funding, the startup has raised a total of more than $45 million in less than two years of operation.
New team members have been brought on board
54Gene has made a number of strategic senior appointments and recruited new team members with valuable industry experience to assist in the achievement of these objectives. In his new role as Vice President, Drug Discovery, Peter Fekkes brings his extensive experience in developing and leading drug discovery programs at companies including Novartis, FogPharma, and H3 Biosciences.
Colm O'Dushlaine, formerly of the Regeneron Genetic Center and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, has joined as Vice President – Genomics and Data Science. He previously worked at the Regeneron Genetic Center and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.
A former partner at IQVIA and ZS Associates, Jude Uzonwanne has also worked at the Monitor Group, Bain & Co., the Bill & Mellon Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among other organizations. He joins the team in his new role as Chief Business Officer.
Speaking about the new senior appointments, Ene-Obong stated that the partners were brought in to ensure that the company remained true to its mission of bringing healthcare to all people equally. He said the partners can help the company replicate its success throughout Africa.
“We believe that the world will benefit from the establishment of an African global drug discovery company that capitalizes on the deep insights gained from genomics research in diverse populations while ensuring true equity for the African population. The fact that our company is shifting into the next gear as it strives to become one of the world's leading genomics research organizations is extremely exciting,” he said.
