This year has not been particularly bad for health startups in Africa. The latest on the list of newly funded startups in Africa is the Nigerian six-month-old e-health and genomics startup 54gene which has raised a US$4.5 million in a seed round of investment to allow it to build the first African DNA biobank.

A Look At The Funding

•  This round of funding, totaling US$4.5 million came from Y Combinator, Fifty Years, Better Ventures, KdT Ventures, Hack VC and Techammer, among others.
• The startup plans to use the funds to pioneer and build the world’s first African DNA biobank, install electronic data capture systems in the leading tertiary hospitals in Nigeria, and expand its teams in Nigeria and the United States (US). 
• It is also planning expansion elsewhere in Africa.
• 54gene is a product of Stack Dx, which raised funding from early-stage VC firm Micro traction to develop the platform in January. 
• Since then, the startup has been selected to take part in the Y Combinator and Google Launchpad Africa accelerator programs, and it has now raised a sizeable seed round.

“The genomic revolution has taken place everywhere except for Africa; home to more than one billion people, and the very birthplace of humankind. What many people don’t realise is how genetically diverse Africa is, and that Africans have married within their tribes for thousands of years, which makes our DNA ideal for studying loss-of-function type mutations that can be replicated into new drugs. We believe this will be done through partnering with pharmaceutical industry players to drive groundbreaking research and layering a data science capability on the data being collected,” said Abasi Ene-Obong, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of 54gene.

54gene Is Set to Build The Largest Database of Genomic and Phenotypic Consented Data of Africans. 

• 54gene’s unique data sets will be used exclusively for research; to proactively address the significant gap the genomics market currently poses for Africa, using African DNA to focus on drug discovery opportunities that will improve access. 
• The startup has successfully completed pilot programs in three of Nigeria’s largest academic tertiary hospitals and is strategically expanding its biobanking activities to 10 of the country’s academic tertiary hospitals.
• The biobank’s focus has also expanded from oncology to include cardiology, neurology, endocrinology and sickle cell disease. 
• 54gene expects to secure 40,000 biobank samples by the end of this year and is working closely with research institutions on the continent, pharmaceutical companies, technology partners and healthcare regulators, to achieve this. 
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“This capital infusion allows us to move swiftly. We are delighted to welcome like-minded, highly experienced investors, who will embark on this journey with us, to secure Africa’s pharma future and to impact millions of people’s lives through improved healthcare and drugs provision. We are committed to curating one of the most interesting genomic and phenotypic datasets in the world that will power the development of new drugs that benefit people of all races,” Ene-Obong said.

Seth Bannon, a founding partner at Fifty Years, said it was a “dirty secret” that the world’s genomic datasets were overwhelmingly Caucasian. 

“By building datasets that are more inclusive, 54Gene will help democratise molecular medicine while unlocking insights that will lead to better therapeutics for everyone,” he said.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

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