[Transcript] #38: 54gene - How the HealthTech platform is building diverse datasets to improve diagnostic and treatment outcomes across Africa
Transcript for podcast originally recorded on September 19, 2021
😉 Hello Afrobility readers and listeners!
In September 2021, we explored the story of 54gene, the African HealthTech platform. 54gene performed genomics research, molecular diagnostics & drug development. It aggregated African genomic data to derive insights to ensure Africans are recipients of future medical discoveries.
Back in 2021, 54gene seemed to be firing across all cylinders and were beneficiaries of the mandatory COVID testing laws. Unfortunately, 54gene imploded spectacularly since then and went out of business in 2023.
Companies discussed: 54gene, llumina, African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Y Combinator (YC), 50 Years, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gilead, IMS Health, Broad Institute, Novartis, Cathay AfricInvest, Helium Health & mPharma
Business concepts discussed: Genomics, Capacity development / Local knowledge development, Healthcare technology, Health insurance coverage, commercial biobanks & public policy
Enjoy!
Olumide Ogunsanwo
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Afrobility Podcast: Stories and analyses of African technology companies (Website, Listen: Apple podcasts, Spotify & Google podcasts & Read: Substack Newsletter)
Adamantium Fund: African B2B fund focused on education, health, finance, food and transportation (Website & memo)
Firedom Book: Financial Independence stories of African Immigrants (Website, Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Transcript starts here
[00:00:00] Olumide Ogunsanwo: Welcome to Afrobility, a conversation about African business and technology. Today we're going to talk about 54Gene, the genomics health tech company. We'll explore the 54Gene story across six different areas. Uno, We’ll kick off with some context about healthcare in Africa. Dos, we'll talk about 54Gene's early history. Tres, we'll do the fundraising and growth. Cuatro, we'll talk about products and monetization strategy. Cinco, we'll discuss a competitive position and potential exit options. And then seis. We will end with our overall outlook. This episode was recorded on September 19th, 2021.
Ban Cassidy! How’s it going?
[00:00:33] Bankole Makanju: Ban Cassidy? The 90s rapper?
[00:00:39] Olumide Ogunsanwo: It sounds more like a group than one person. It's like the Jay-Z line: I'm not a businessman. I'm a business, man. Let me handle my business, damn
[00:00:45] Bankole Makanju: I dislike it strongly. What are we doing today? We are talking about 54Gene. Or, as people in Western Sahara call it, 55Gene.
[00:00:58] Olumide Ogunsanwo: You know what, I thought you were gonna say, as people in America call it 23andMe, I was gonna say that's a completely different company.
[00:01:04] Bankole Makanju: 54 because of the 54 countries in Africa, but 55 according to the African Union. But it just went ahead with the United Nations definition and just said We don't care about Western Sahara.
If you're in Western Sahara, you have something to say about this stuff.
[00:01:18] Olumide Ogunsanwo: Yeah. Email lawyers@afrobility. com 😉 We'll sort it out for you!