54gene, the health technology company advancing African genomics research, 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, according to a statement by the company on Thursday, brings the total investment to date to more than $45 million since being founded in 2019.
The company also named new appointments of senior executives who will help with the new expansion.
Colm O’Dushlaine was named as Vice President – Genomics and Data Science; Peter Fekkes as Vice President – Drug Discovery; Teresia Bost as General Counsel; and Jude Uzonwanne, Chief Business Officer.
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 the expansion of 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.
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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.
The Chief Executive Officer, 54gene, Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong, said, “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.”
“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.”
Partner at Cathay AfricInvest, Yassine Oussaifi, stated, “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
