Nigeria’s 54gene is Building the World’s First Pan-African Biobank
Africans are more genetically diverse than all other populations combined. Yet, African DNA makes up less than 2% of genetic research material. 54gene is on a mission to improve our understanding of the human genome so we can advance the quality of healthcare worldwide.
The startup was founded by Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong in January 2019 to address the significant gap in the global genomic market with the belief that pharmaceutical research and development is lacking the diverse data that may hold the key to medical discoveries and new healthcare solutions.
He also believes that Africa will revolutionize the global genomic market. 54gene is basically a healthcare startup that offers a genetics testing platform.
54gene is building the world’s first and largest pan-African biobank. They are targeting multiple disease states, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neuro-degenerative disease. They currently partner with pharmaceutical companies to identify new drug targets and develop diagnostics and treatments for diseases.
It aims to unlock the African genome by building the world’s first and largest pan-African biobank by studying the dataset to identify diagnostic and therapeutic targets that will benefit people throughout the globe.
54gene provides genetic testing and molecular diagnostics services to patients and physicians in order to expand access to precision medicine in Africa, they are compliant with international data privacy laws such as HIPAA and GDPR and opt-in to our biobank is voluntary and they are doing the job through ecosystem partnerships with hospitals and doctors in Africa to carry out academic research and to improve access to life-saving diagnostics.
Currently, the investors in the idea are: Y Combinator, 50 Y, Better Ventures, KdT Ventures, hackvc, AeraVC, Pioneer Fund and Techhammer among others.
54gene is the first African company to leverage on these advances in genomic research, offering molecular diagnostic services to both clinicians and individuals at competitive prices and at the rate that the startup is moving, it is almost certain that it would succeed in offering bespoke solutions to healthcare and patient management in Africa.
