54gene, an African genomics company, has raised $25 million in a Series B funding round to develop global drug discovery capabilities.
Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund led a $25 million Series B financing for African genomics firm 54gene. Adjuvant Capital, KdT Ventures, Plexo Capital, Endeavor Capital, Ingressive Capital, and others also participated in the round. Since its inception in 2019, the company has raised more than $45 million in total funding.
“It’s genuinely remarkable to observe the effect of African scientists in worldwide research, and it’s important to global health that this continues,” said Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong, CEO of 54gene. We want to make a bigger impact on global drug development by expanding our life science capabilities on the continent, and this new funding will help us do that.”
54gene will also grow its genomes and molecular diagnostics section across Africa, ensuring that African patients have access to reliable diagnostics and allowing precision medicine to be used in clinical settings across the continent. Michelle Ephraim has been appointed General Manager Diagnostics Pan-Africa to manage this new business unit. Michelle has worked for Leica Biosystems, PerkinElmer, and Merck Millipore in various sales leadership roles in Africa.
“As a pioneer in genomics and precision medicine in Nigeria, 54gene has established a unique health technology platform harnessing African resources to uncover scientific discoveries for the benefit of African and global communities,” said Yassine Oussaifi, Partner at Cathay AfricInvest. We at Cathay AfricInvest Innovation are committed to supporting creative, inclusive solutions that link African technology and research to global innovation ecosystems in order to help them scale. 54gene works on drug development, molecular diagnostics, and clinical trials to improve availability and cost to a variety of healthcare solutions that will benefit people all around the world. We’re excited to collaborate with the 54gene team on their growth across the continent and beyond.”
“As a pioneer in genomics and precision medicine in Nigeria, 54gene has established a unique health technology platform harnessing African resources to uncover scientific discoveries for the benefit of African and global communities,” said Yassine Oussaifi, Partner at Cathay AfricInvest. We at Cathay AfricInvest Innovation are committed to supporting creative, inclusive solutions that link African technology and research to global innovation ecosystems in order to help them scale.
The funds will be used to develop 54gene’s capabilities in sequencing, target identification, and validation, and precision medicine clinical trials, allowing for medication discovery in Africa for both Africans and the rest of the world. The fresh funds will also allow the company to start expanding across the African continent.
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