GHANA – Ghanaian cancer research and diagnostics firm Yemaachi Biotech has raised US$3 million in its latest funding round to further its goal of worldwide accuracy oncology diversification.

The seed funding round was led by V8 Capital with participation from other investors like LifeLine Family Heritage Fund, Y Combinator, Tencent, LoftyInc Capital, VestedWorld, V Square Capital and Ethan Perlstein.

Yemaachi Biotech was launched in 20202 by Yaw Bediako, David Hutchful, Joyce Ngoi, and Yaw Attua-Afari to enhance precision oncology across Africa and beyond by increasing access to research and diagnostics.

The company uses cutting edge immunogenomics, bioinformatics and artificial intelligence to accelerate the development of cancer detection and cure strategies with the goal to reduce the cancer burden in African continent.

It has ground-breaking products and partnerships focused on developing new molecular diagnostics and therapeutic targets through its clinical expertise, experience and research platform as well as broad clinical contacts across Africa.

The firm gives clinical testing services suited to the needs of indigenous people such as NGS-based screening and diagnostic testing.

Yemaachi’s Co- Yaw Bediako stated that the company had merely touched the surface of genomic data and comprehension since genetic consequences are context-dependent.

He said that generating a dataset with the most genetic variation can result in rapid findings with long-term ramifications for cancer research, medication innovation and patient care around the world.

“The Company’s vast datasets when combined with Yemaachi’s capabilities in immunogenomics, bioinformatics and deep learning can be a critical enabler for fast speeding discoveries in cancer,” he added.

Earlier, Yemaachi was chosen as a recipient of a US$1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation under the Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellowship granted to Bediako.

The prestigious fellowship awarded to Yemaachi will to help its scientists make solutions to key global health issues.

Yemaachi and Lucence also launched the AMBER Study late last year which aims to accurately understand and explain the genetics of breast cancer in African-American women using liquid biopsy.

In addition, the company opened its at-home Sheba HPV Test in Ghana in January 2022 to help identify women at higher risk of cervical cancer, which is the second most common malignancy in West African women.

The recently secured funding will further the brand’s mission to redefine how cancer is diagnosed and treated in Africa through innovative, sustainable biomedical research and partnerships

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