A’Ibom Son’s Health Tech Company Secures $25m for Global Drug Discovery
Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of 54gene, has secured US$25 million in a Series B round towards the advancement of global drug discovery capxabilities.
US$25 million amounts to over N10bn in the current dollar exchange rate to naira.
54gene is a health technology company advancing the state of healthcare through large scale discovery and translational research, advanced molecular diagnostics, and clinical programmes for the benefit of Africans and the global population.
Ene-obong hails from Akwa Ibom State but has extensive experience operating in the US, UK and Nigerian healthcare industries.
54gene will use the fund to advance its capabilities to contribute to global drug discovery.
The new US$25 million Series B was led by Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, and saw the participation of Adjuvant Capital, KdT Ventures, Plexo Capital, Endeavor Capital, Ingressive Capital and others.
Today, the new raiser brings 54gene’s total investment to more than US$45 million.
The startup raised a US$15 million Series A round last year.
In 2019, the startup was launched as a research, services and development company. Since then, the health technology company has created significant impact around the world.
Consequently, it has made the Time Magazine list of 12 innovations that would change healthcare in the 2020s.
Ene-Obong who holds a PhD in Cancer Biology from University of London, a Masters in human molecular genetics from Imperial College London and a Masters in Business Management from Claremont Colleges, California was listed as 1 of 30 most innovative entrepreneurs on the African continent in 2019 by Quartz Africa. In September 2020, Dr Ene-Obong was labelled a Nigerian hero in the fight against COVID-19, by Nigerian newspaper, ThisDay, and also included in Fortune’s 40 under 40 most influential people in healthcare for the year 2020.
Ene-obong was one of the key Speakers at the Social Media Week held in Lagos last year.
