Teresia Bost, General Counsel at 54gene has been appointed as interim CEO of the African genomics company after Abasi Ene-Obong stepped down as CEO.
Bost will be supported by Chief Operating Officer Delali Attipoe. Ene-Obong, on the other hand, will retain his position on 54gene’s board while moving to a new role of senior advisor.
Ene-Obong’s resignation and Bost’s ascension comes two months after 54gene laid off 95 employees, or more than 30% of its workforce, in August. The layoffs affected employees, mostly contract staff (in labs and sales departments) recruited to work in 54gene’s COVID business line launched in 2020 to complement its flagship product: a biobank of the African genome.
Additionally, the former CEO’s resignation comes one month after Ogochukwu Francis Osifo, the company’s co-founder and VP, Engineering, left the company in September.
Founded in 2019 by Ene-Obong, 54gene addresses the gap in the global genomics market where Africans make up less than 3% of genetic material used in pharmaceutical research despite being more genetically diverse than any other population.
The startup has received over $45 million from investors such as Adjuvant Capital, Y Combinator and Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund (CAIF) and partnered with organizations like Illumina, Genentech and Parexel.
With the exit of Ene-Obong, the startup annouced a new direction. It said in statement: “Going forward, the primary focus will be on the unique genomic research the company has started by further leveraging its genomic datasets derived from 54gene’s state-of-the-art biobank, that currently houses over 130,000 unique patient samples and corresponding genomic data, all with the objective of positioning the company to make contributions to precision medicine and drug discovery.
“This continues the meaningful work the company has invested in, whilst de-emphasizing the clinical diagnostic business line at the time.”
Ene-Obong, addressing his exit and the transition in a statement, said: “I have always believed that the scale of genetic diversity in Africa and other highly diverse populations will materially impact our understanding of biology and lead to better medicines and interventions for the global population, and I am proud of what has been achieved at 54gene.
“I’d like to thank the 54gene Board for their support over the years, and the many talented scientists and technology professionals I have had the pleasure to work with during my time at the company.
“I will continue to support the company and the scientific ecosystem, particularly the African genomics ecosystem. Teresia and Delali bring decades of experience in building and scaling high-impact global pharma companies, and they also have deep insight into the workings of 54gene. I am excited to see them take the company to its next phase.”
