54gene co-founder and CEO Dr. Abasi Ene Obon The African genomics firm confirmed to TechCrunch today that he has resigned from his board position.
The three-year-old company appointed a legal advisor Thearesia L. Bost as Interim CEO.She will be supported by the Chief Operating Officer Delari Attipoo, the company said. Meanwhile, Ene-Obong will retain his position on 54gene’s board of directors while transitioning to his new role as Senior Advisor.
Ene-Obong’s resignation and Bost’s promotion two months later 54gene lays off 95 employees, or more than 30% of its workforce, in August. The layoffs have affected employees, primarily contract staff (laboratory and sales department).
Founded in 2019 by Ene-Obong, 54gene is a global leader in the research of human populations, where Africans account for less than 3% of the genetic material used in pharmaceutical research, despite being more genetically diverse than other populations. Addressing gaps in the genomics market. This bold project has received more than $40 million of his from investors including Adjuvant Capital, Y Combinator and Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund (CAIF), and has partnered with organizations like Illumina, Genentech and Parexel.
Biotech companies around the world tend to take a long-term approach to making money. In fact, such companies can be worth billions with little or no revenue. Based in Washington but focused on Africa, 54gene’s main revenue stream is working with pharmaceutical companies to co-develop medicines and medicines, and that takes time. The typical timeframe from creating a new drug to market entry can take up to 10 years, so it makes sense for 54gene to turn its lab capabilities into his COVID tests as a new revenue stream.
But the decline in COVID testing has created new challenges for 54gene. It’s a role that overlaps with diminishing returns. He has already laid off 95 employees, but the company has confirmed it will carry out a second round of layoffs following restructuring across several divisions. The YC-backed company says it wants to focus resources on its core mission of equalizing African genomics research and precision medicine. At the same time, its clinical diagnostic arm takes a backseat.
Here’s more information about the company’s new direction:
Going forward, the primary focus will be on proprietary genomic research initiated by the company by further leveraging genomic datasets from 54gene’s state-of-the-art biobank. The aim is to position the company to contribute to precision medicine and drug discovery. This continues the meaningful work the company has invested in, but de-emphasizes its then clinical diagnostics line of business.
It is unclear exactly why Ene-Obong is resigning. But it’s not an exaggeration to speculate that the company’s recent struggles are a contributing factor. Also, when the company implemented its first layoffs, a group of employees filed financial impropriety allegations against him and his executives. But, at least for now, such claims are unfounded.Interestingly, the former CEO’s resignation is also coming a month later. Ogochuk Francis OsifoThe company’s co-founder and vice president of engineering left the company in September.
Asked whether the company’s decision to let him go was performance-related or the former CEO was moving on to new projects, 54gene said, “Abashi has decided to step down as CEO, but will continue to support the company going forward.” Just keep going,” he said. Future plans, including strategic partnerships and fundraising. While we cannot comment on what other new interests he will pursue, we wish him every success and he remains an important team member. I think
As 54gene moves into a new phase, Ene-Obong, who has consulted for organizations such as Gilead and IMS Health in the past, said that Bost and Attipoe have “deep insight into how 54gene works”. We believe startups are in the best hands. Bost brings with him over 20 years of extensive knowledge and experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries, with companies such as Celgene and Quartet Health, providing strategic support for securities matters, corporate governance and financial matters. It offers. Attipoe, on the other hand, has over 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector, working with companies such as Roche and Genentech.
Ene-Obong said in a statement about his departure and transition:
I believe that the scale of genetic diversity in Africa and other highly diverse populations will have a substantial impact on our understanding of biology, leading to better health care and interventions for the world’s population. I’ve always believed in it and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved with 54gene. I would like to thank the 54gene Board of Directors for their support over the years. I would also like to thank the many talented scientists and technical experts who I have had the pleasure of working with during my time at the company. I will continue to support the company and the scientific ecosystem, especially the African genomics ecosystem. Teresia and Delali bring decades of experience building and scaling high-impact global pharmaceutical companies, as well as deep insight into how 54gene works. I look forward to seeing them take the company to the next level.
