54Gene, the African genomics startup, has been certified by the Nigerian Center for Disease Control to join the accredited testing network for COVID-19.
54Gene has already launched the first of its mobile testing laboratory in Ogun state while that of Lagos and with Kano state will follow soon.|
To make this happen, 54Gene partnered with First City Monument Bank and Ogun State Government on the pilot of a new solution aimed at expanding testing across the country.
On why the genomics startup settled for a mobile testing centres, a 54Gene statement explained that: “In carrying out a situational analysis, it became clear that there was a need for infrastructure to support an increase in testing capacity in Nigeria.
“However, setting up a permanent structure requires significant cost, manpower, and an extensive period of construction time. Speed was of the essence, as we saw the need to increase nationwide testing capabilities, isolate positive cases, and thus help flatten the curve by breaking the chain of transmission.
“Then came the solution for constructing a mobile laboratory. Our mobile lab removes the restriction imposed by permanent buildings and allows us to quickly offer our services to multiple states due to the ease of transport and the mobile capability it provides.”
The 40ft structure built with container technology provides a unique plug and play feature that eliminates the logistics of shipping samples to another location for processing.
This reduces according to 54Gene the turnaround times for test results and allows clinicians to manage and treat patients accurately, sooner rather than later. The environmentally friendly cargotecture solution can also be reused to serve other functions for urban spaces.
The mobile laboratory is fully kitted with vital instruments including an autoclave, biosafety cabinet, centrifuge, heating blocks, vortexes, pipettes, and PCR machines to support COVID-19 testing.
54Gene launched in January 2019 Founder and CEO Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong is one of the African genomics research, services, and development company in African.
The startup has been busy this year. It closed a Series A round of $15M, led by Adjuvant Capital, launched a COVID-19 support fund in Nigeria, and was named in Fast Company’s list of world innovative companies.
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