Bengaluru, Aug 29: Genomics research firm MedGenome on Tuesday said that it raised $30 million (Rs 192 crore) in the third round (Series C) of funding to speed up developing affordable diagnostics tests.
The financing was led by venture capital firm Sequoia India and Belgian investment firm Sofina s.a.
Infosys co-founder S. Gopalakrishnan and former Cognizant Chief Executive Officer Lakshmi Narayanan participated in the funding for the first time.
"I am investing in MedGenome as it addresses opportunities in developing precision medicine. Its platform and network are designed to generate actionable insights for clinicians to diagnose and provide better management for complex diseases at lower cost," said Gopalakrishnan.
In the previous two rounds (Series B and A) of funding, the four-year old firm raised $20 million in 2015 from the Indian arm of the US-based Sequoia and $4 million in 2013 from the Singapore-based Emerge Ventures Pte Ltd.
"The fresh capital will be used to penetrate the market by creating awareness on the need for genetic tests and broaden biomarker discovery programmes," said the city-based firm in a statement here.
As the largest sequencing lab in South East Asia, MedGenome services global pharmaceutical and biotech firms the world over. Its lab is certified by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments and accredited with the College of American Pathologists.
The research firm claimed conducting the country's first liquid biopsy test 'OncoTrack' to monitor cancer treatment, non-invasive prenatal test for pregnant women, carrier screening test for couples planning on a baby and exome sequencing test for identifying mutations in rare diseases.
"With over a million babies born every year with genetic disorders, India carries a huge genetic disorder burden. Precision medicine is the goal of clinicians and patients that can be enabled through biomarker discovery," said MedGenome Founder-Chairman Sam Santhosh in the statement.
With leadership in genetic diagnostics for inherited diseases in the country, the company is expanding DNA-based testing to cover infectious diseases like tuberculosis.
"MedGenome continues to emerge as a leading genomics firm, bringing affordable genetic testing to emerging market consumers, supporting physicians make better decisions and leveraging the power of that data to impact global drug discovery market," said Sequoia Managing Director Abhay Pandey in the statement.
Sofina Investment Manager Xiai-Tian Loi said his firm was partnering with MedGenome 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 MedGenome's efforts will have an impact on healthcare delivery in India and the world over," he added.
