Genetic diagnostic firm MedGenome says it's evaluating inorganic growth, to target emerging markets

MedGenome, a domestic genetic diagnostic company, is considering inorganic growth to boost its business in emerging markets. 

The company currently has a comprehensive genetic diagnostic portfolio of more than 1,300 tests in India, covering major key areas of genetic applications is open for strategic partnerships from companies across the world.  Using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), MedGenome’s test portfolio spans five verticals namely inherited diseases segment, Reproductive and Child Health (RCH), cancer, infectious diseases, and the recently launched consumer wellness segment that offers direct to consumer (D2C) preventive wellness products.

“We are actively evaluating several other targets for our Claria (Reproductive & Child health) and Prima (Oncology) segments, capitalizing on the ongoing wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) consolidation in the Indian diagnostic space,” said Mahesh Pratapneni, Co-founder and Group CEO, MedGenome.

Claria is a suite of Next-generation Sequencing (NGS) technology-based solutions for reproductive testing. Claria claims to offer most accurate Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening Test (NIPT), Genetic Carrier Screening Test (GCST), and Preimplantation Genetic Screening/Diagnosis (PGS/PGD), which means testing for an unborn baby's genes. In addition to this, Claria also offers routine prenatal diagnostics (before birth), and cytogenetic tests which is a study of chromosomes for genetic diseases. Similarly, Prima is  MedGenome’s segment that enables hereditary risk assessment, differential diagnosis, accurate prognosis, targeted therapy selection, therapy monitoring and disease surveillance for cancers through various tests.

“We have also recently entered research collaborations with several pharma companies to further enable Companion diagnostic (Precision medicine) programs in India. Our advanced AI/ML enabled bioinformatics platform and databases continue to give us a strong edge making us the most preferred partner to international pharma companies for conducting such studies,” he said.

In November 2021, MedGenome acquired Trident diagnostics, a routine path lab, to expand its network in tier 2 and tier 3 cities in India. The company further aims to increase accessibility and affordability of genomics in India and other emerging markets by driving deeper penetration, market consolidation, new product development, and cloud-based bioinformatics solutions.

“We are also exploring providing access to our platform to other diagnostics companies outside India to enable access to affordable genetic tests to in other emerging markets,” said Pratapneni. 

According to health experts, there are several diseases that can only be identified by genetic testing. Today therapeutics are available for cancer that are prescribed only after completing a companion diagnostic test.
 
ML techniques can be used to identify disease patterns, classify patients with ease, develop clinical forecasting models, and inspect the impact of medication on disease, in addition to boosting the speed of analysis.

“Gene sequencing techniques provide crucial insights into an individual’s current and future health that may have implications for family members as well, saving valuable time in clinical decision-making and devising health and medication plans,” said Pratapneni.  “Personalised medicine complemented by AI/ML techniques has the potential to revolutionize healthcare. We are now looking at multi-omics testing and further lowering data analysis costs,” he said.

 
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