JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA and SHENZEN, CHINA \u2013 April 20, 2023.\u00a0Akili Labs (Pty) Ltd, a \u00a0pioneer of cost-effective molecular diagnostics and secure genomic data storage solutions, and \u00a0BGI Genomics Co. Ltd, one of the world’s leading genomics companies, today announced the \u00a0signing of a technology transfer agreement that will provide the Southern region of Africa with \u00a0clinical-grade sequencing solutions.<\/p>\n

“Improving the cost and turnaround time of genetic sequencing services will play a major role in \u00a0expanding precision medicine-driven healthcare in Africa,” said Charles Faul, co-founder and \u00a0Chief Executive Officer of Akili. “Locally provided services have struggled with capacity restraints \u00a0and are challenged with local pricing of reagents and equipment. Often, the only solution is to \u00a0send samples to Europe or the USA, where sequencing is cheaper. However, this comes at a \u00a0price: the application for export permits can be a lengthy process, and then there is the risk of \u00a0sample loss or damage during shipping.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccess to sequencing is only one part of the equation\u201d, said Stuart Ali, PhD, Chief Scientific \u00a0Officer of Akili. \u201cSending samples overseas means that they are not processed in locally \u00a0accredited laboratories. And with the enforcement of the regional data protection laws and need \u00a0to preserve the geographic sovereignty and security of genetic data, local in country solutions \u00a0are now an imperative. Indeed, this partnership supplies the first truly Africa-based service to \u00a0meet our client needs\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to see the progress being made in genomics sequencing development in Africa.\u201d, \u00a0said Ronnie Mao, Business Manager of Southern Africa, BGI Genomics. \u201cWith the continent being \u00a0home to the world’s most diverse genomics data, it is crucial that local talent has the tools and \u00a0resources to further our understanding of clinical genetics. We welcome the initiative to develop \u00a0localized genomics sequencing capabilities in Africa, with a focus on clinical genetics and \u00a0improving health outcomes. This will not only benefit the people of Africa, but also enable and \u00a0empower local talent to lead this effort and bring their unique perspectives to the field. We look \u00a0forward to seeing the positive impact that this development will have on the health of individuals \u00a0and communities in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

END.<\/p>\n

About Akili Labs<\/b>
\nA Founders Factor Africa portfolio company, Akili Labs specialises in cost-effective and accessible diagnostic services by carefully selecting technology and optimizing processes. Aiming for vertical integration to drive precision medicine, its services are supported by a proprietary cloud platform that manages clinical and genetic data through robust encryption and data compression algorithms. Akili Labs has regional offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa; Lusaka, Zambia; and Maryland, USA. These\u00a0<\/span>locations collectively establish the start of a global network for precision medicine and consumer \u00a0genetics services.<\/p>\n

About BGI Genomics<\/b>
\nBGI Genomics, headquartered in Shenzhen China, is the world\u2019s leading integrated solutions \u00a0provider of precision medicine. Our services cover over 100 countries and regions, involving \u00a0more than 2,300 medical institutions. In July 2017, as a subsidiary of BGI Group, BGI Genomics \u00a0(300676.SZ<\/a>) was officially listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA and SHENZEN, CHINA \u2013 April 20, 2023.\u00a0Akili Labs (Pty) Ltd, a \u00a0pioneer of cost-effective molecular diagnostics and secure genomic data storage solutions, and \u00a0BGI Genomics Co. Ltd, one of the world’s leading genomics companies, today announced the \u00a0signing of a technology transfer agreement that will provide the Southern region of Africa with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,15,1,170,154],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-health","category-local-news","category-new","category-popular-news","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenyaleo.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenyaleo.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenyaleo.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenyaleo.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenyaleo.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7542"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenyaleo.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7546,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenyaleo.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7542\/revisions\/7546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenyaleo.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenyaleo.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenyaleo.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenyaleo.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}