54gene CEO steps down; Teresia L. Bost appointed as interim CEO

54gene CEO, Dr Abasi Ene-Obong has stepped down from his executive role and General Counsel, Teresia L. Bost has been appointed as interim CEO. She will be supported by Chief Operating Officer Delali Attipoe.

This was confirmed today to TechCrunch by the African genomics company. This comes barely a month after VP of Engineering and Co-founder, Ogochukwu Francis Osifo, left the company for personal reasons.

In August 2022, the company also laid off 95 employees or more than 30% of its workforce, mostly contract staff receruited to work in in COVID business line launched in 2020.

It is not exactly clear why Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong is stepping down. However the company stated that “Abasi has decided to step down as the CEO but will continue to support the company in its go-forward plans such as strategic partnerships and fundraising. We cannot comment on what other new interests he will pursue if any, but we wish him well and still consider him a key team member.”

Launched in 2019, 54gene utilizes human genetic data derived from diverse African populations, to improve the development, availability, and efficacy of medical products that will prove beneficial to Africans and the wider global population.

The company came into prominence in its efforts to tackle the COVID-19 epidermic. In 2020, It was named in Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2020. According to Crunchbase, the company has so far raised $44.7 million to support its operations.

With the dwindling numbers in the COVID-19 testing cases, this has taken a toll in its revenues and it is struggling to meet it revenue projections. Even though the company has laid off 95 employees, it confirmed that it will conduct a another round of layoffs following restructuring across several departments.

The company has also come out with its new direction saying:

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.

Dr Ene-Obong in his statement about his exit and transition 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.

Dr. Ene-Obong will continue on the board of the company while moving to a new role of senior advisor.