Genomics research and diagnostics company MedGenome said today that it closed a $30 million Series C round led by Sequoia India and Sofina. Zodius Capital, the co-founder & former CEO of Infosys, Kris Gopalakrishnan, and former Cognizant CEO Lakshmi Narayanan also participated in the round.
The Foster City, Calif.-based company said it plans to use the funds to advance its biomarker discovery programs and continue development of its OncoPept cancer immunotherapy biomarker solutions.
MedGenome provides a variety of genetic diagnostic tests in India, seeking to establish a diverse genetic variant database for early drug discovery. The company also has a lab in California to house its bioinformatics and computing capabilities.
“Precision medicine is the ultimate goal of clinicians and patients alike, which can be enabled through extensive biomarker discovery,” founder, chairman & CEO Sam Santhosh said in prepared remarks. “Our work in helping researchers discover disease biomarkers – thanks in large part to our unparalleled collection of genotype and phenotype information across India – gives us confidence in our unique approach. The next step: drug target validation centers to bring treatments and cures to market faster.”
“MedGenome continues to emerge as a leading genomics company bringing affordable and high quality genetic testing to emerging market consumers, supporting physicians make better decisions and leveraging the power of that data to potentially impact global drug discovery market,” Abhay Pandey, managing director at Sequoia Capital India Advisors added. “Sequoia is excited to continue this partnership and are committed to helping MedGenome strengthen its proposition to consumers and doctors in these markets and become a significant player globally in the arena of precision medicine through data from the currently underrepresented emerging markets including India.”
“Sofina is looking forward to be MedGenome’s partner on a journey to broaden the use of genomics-based diagnostics in the Indian healthcare sector, and tap into the value of Indian genetic data for research. We believe the company’s efforts will have a positive impact on healthcare delivery in India and around the world. This investment is part of our strategy of being a long-term supporter of talented entrepreneurs and like-minded investors in growth markets,” Xiao-Tian Loi, investment manager at Sofina, said.
See the best minds in medtech live at DeviceTalks Boston on Oct. 2.
