IndyGeneUS AI secures pathogen sequencing capability to support COVID-19 genomic surveillance initiatives
WASHINGTON, May 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — IndyGeneUS AI (pronounced indigenous) has acquired genomic research and testing capabilities through partnerships. This pathogen sequencing capacity has emerged at a pivotal moment in the efforts across the continent to enhance genomic surveillance and track COVID-19 variant strains.
Yusuf Henriques, founder and CEO of IndyGeneUS, shared how critical this work is. “We must move quickly to address the threat that COVID-19 and its variants pose to the entire continent of Africa. Our partners understand this urgency and are all aligned to support this mission.”
Capabilities include next-generation sequencing (NGS) -based genotyping, targeted sequencing and comprehensive bioinformatics analysis. Applications of our capabilities include comparative genomic analysis, disease genetics, epigenomics, and genome mapping. View our full capabilities here.
“These capabilities are pivotal for the Continent and the future of precision medicine,” commented Bradford Wilson, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at IndyGeneUS AI. He continued, “We are currently in negotiations with multiple major pharmaceutical companies who understand the value of what we are building to address infectious and non-communicable diseases alike.”
In less than a year, IndyGeneUS AI has reached collaborative agreements with Kenyan entities including KAVI Institute of Clinical Research at The University of Nairobi and Afya Rekod. We have also partnered with Encrypgen which has developed a blockchain-encrypted marketplace for commercialization of insights gleaned from our repository and compensation of participants who contribute their data.
IndyGeneUS has rapidly identified the growing infrastructure need to build sequencing capabilities that support genomic surveillance efforts. The emergence of the COVID-19 variant strains led the World Health Organization (WHO) and the African Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) to launch a network of laboratories last year to boost the Continent’s capacity to identify emerging variants of concern. These initiatives need more support and infrastructure. IndyGeneUS plans to leverage public and private partnerships to accelerate sequencing capability across Africa.
About IndyGeneUS AI
Headquartered in Nairobi, IndyGeneUS AI is a genomics company creating the world’s largest block-chain encrypted repository of indigenous and diasporic African clinical and multi-omics data for disease prevention and detection, drug discovery and development, clinical disease management, and promotion of precision health equity. IndyGeneUS was founded by CEO, Mr. Yusuf Henriques, COO, Dr. Wilmot Allen and CSO, Dr. Bradford Wilson. With African American and African ownership, the company has U.S. operations in Washington DC and a presence in South Africa, through the Founder Institute. The Founder Institute is the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator. Please visit https://indygeneus.ai for more information.
IndyGeneUS AI Media Contact: Madia Logan | madia@loganpr.com | 240.270.3313
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SOURCE IndyGeneUS AI
