Bangalore-based high-end diagnostics services company MedGenome Labs Pvt Ltd has raised $20 million (Rs 127 crore) in its Series B round of funding from Sequoia Capital, according to a press release.
The company will use the money to expand its portfolio of genetic tests, enhance sequencing facilities in India and the US, and expand its collaborative network with specialty hospitals/clinics and genomic research institutions in India.
As part of the deal, Sequoia has named Abhay Pandey as its nominee on the company's board. He would join other existing directors Sam Santhosh (CEO of MedGenome), Mahesh Pratapneni (Emerge Ventures) and Dhiraj Rajaram (Mu Sigma).
MedGenome had raised $4 million in Series A funding round from a clutch of investors led by Emerge Ventures and Papillon Capital. Other investors included Dmitri Mehlhorn, former president of Bloomberg BNA Legal; Ambiga Dhiraj, co-founder of Mu Sigma (and wife of MuSigma CEO Dhiraj Rajaram); Tim McLaughlin, CEO of Siteworx; and Dan Peterson, former CEO of CASHNet.
“The influx of next generation sequencing and high-throughput data is changing the landscape of computational biology. This has resulted in the need for more robust infrastructure, tools and techniques for genomic analysis. MedGenome has firmly established itself as a global market leader in genomics-based diagnostics and research from India,” said Abhay Pandey, managing director of Sequoia Capital.
MedGenome uses DNA sequencing to conduct clinical genetic testing of complex diseases related to oncology, cardiology and ophthalmology among others. These tests help doctors determine how different medicines will react to different patients.
“Our genomic sequencing capabilities and powerful interpretation provide actionable insights to clinicians allowing them to adopt precision medicine in their practice while our research solutions have enabled us to develop deep insights into diseases at the genetic and molecular level,” said Sam Santhosh, CEO, MedGenome.
MedGenome has a Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) lab in Bangalore. The company claims that it now operates the largest privately owned, fully independent NGS lab in India.
Recently, MedGenome launched Natera’s Panorama Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT), which would add to the company’s current offering of over 100 genetic tests across multiple disease areas such as cancer, eye and neurological disorders, metabolic disease and other rare cancers.