54GENE CEO STEPS DOWN

Abasi Ene-Obong, co-founder and chief executive officer of 54gene, has stepped down. In a statement on Tuesday, the company’s general counsel said it has appointed Teresa Bost as the interim CEO and will be supported by Delali Attipoe, chief operating officer. According to the company, Ene-Obong will retain his position on 54gene’s board while moving to a new senior advisor role. 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 audacious project 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.