MedGenome Raises $55 Mn In Fresh Funding To Expand In Tier 2-3 Markets

Bengaluru-based healthtech startup MedGenome has raised $55 Mn in a fresh funding round. The investment has been reportedly led by LeapFrog Investments with the participation of existing investors Sequoia Capital and Sofina.

The funding will be used towards expanding its clinical genomic testing in Tier 2 and 3 cities and smaller towns. It will also invest in accelerating its drug discovery programs. Prior to this round, the company has raised $55 Mn in funding,

Founded by Sam Santhosh in 2013, MedGenome is a genetic diagnostic testing company. The company claims to have built the largest database of South Asian genome variants in genetic diagnostics in India and research partnerships.

It claims to have completed over 200K genomic tests to date and obtains samples from more than 550 hospitals and 6,000 clinicians across India.

“Genomics and personalised medicine are the future of healthcare, but emerging markets remain significantly under-penetrated. As the largest player in India in applied genomics, we are well-positioned to fill this gap,” said Sam Santhosh, founder and chief executive of MedGenome.

Felix Olale, global co-lead for healthcare investment at LeapFrog said that the funding will help the company the development of new drug discovery platforms that will have an enormous impact on cancer and cardiovascular disease.

MedGenome’s diagnostics tests include many breakthroughs for genetic diagnostics including the first proprietary liquid biopsy (OncoTrack) for monitoring cancer treatment, a non-invasive prenatal screening test (NIPT) for pregnant women, carrier screening for couples planning for children, and whole-exome sequencing for cost-effective identification of rare mutations.

Globally, the market is expected to more than double, to touch $28.5 Bn by 2026, up from $13 Bn in 2019.

One of the competitors of MedGenome is Hyderabad-based MapMyGenome. The company is behind the personal genomics and predictive tests brand Genomepatri. It uses state-of-the-art technology to decode and understand an individual’s DNA and provides actionable steps for individuals and their physicians towards a healthier life. It offers a plethora of mapping tests for genomics, cardiology, oncology, gynaecology and neurology.

According to DataLabs by Inc42, the healthtech sector recorded total funding of $586.93 Mn in 2019, an increase of over 10% in the amount of funding from the previous year.

According to Datalabs by Inc42, there are over 4800 healthtech startups in India till 2018. These startups are leveraging new-age technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) to develop solutions which are effective in these situations.