MedGenome News Room

MedGenome, Inc. has been selected for the 2019 Best of Foster City Award in the Corporate Headquarters category by the Foster City Award Program.

Each year, the Foster City Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Foster City area a great place to live, work and play.

MedGenome, a genomics-driven research and diagnostics company, today announced the appointment of Dr. Andrew Peterson as its Chief Scientific Officer.

Dr. Peterson will lead the company’s research programs to identify drug targets and biomarkers by leveraging its unparalleled access to south Asian cohorts and disease phenotypes. Its large network of collaborations with hospitals across India has enabled MedGenome to create a research platform to tap into thousands of patient records with oncology, auto-immune, metabolic and rare disease diagnoses. The platform capabilities are amplified by MedGenome’s high-throughput genomics sequencing and data analysis/interpretation capabilities. Dr. Peterson will also be instrumental in strengthening the organization’s capabilities and capacities to perform and execute large scale genomics research projects.

Prior to joining MedGenome, Dr. Peterson was Senior Director of Molecular Biology at Genentech, primarily focused on genomics applications for therapeutic interventions in areas such as cardiovascular diseases and liver diseases, resulting in molecules in clinical development.

Scientists from MedGenome, Bangalore, India in collaboration with oncologists from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India and scientists at Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, South San Francisco, Calif., USA, report in Cancer Cell the identification of a treatable mutation linked to lung cancer. A mutation in HER2, a gene normally amplified in breast cancer, was found mutated in a familial lung cancer patient. Based on the mutation profile the patient was treated with an approved HER2 inhibitor that normally is used for treating breast cancer. The study also reports several additional actionable activating HER2 mutations in multiple cancers in the same region of HER2 as observed in the lung cancer patient.

The published study examines the feasibility of treating Lynch syndrome using a personalized cancer vaccine approach by identifying potential immunogenic tumor specific alterations.

Lynch syndrome is a hereditary cancer arising from loss of function mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes, such as MLH1, MSH2, MSH3, MSH6, PMS2, and EPCAM. “Over 1 million Americans are affected by Lynch syndrome according to the Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel, wherein only 5% are aware of this” said Prof Henry T. Lynch whose groundbreaking research in 1960s led to the discovery of cancer family syndrome or hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) also referred to as Lynch syndrome.

MedGenome’s OncoPept™ platform of advanced genomics-based solutions designed to accelerate cancer immune-oncology research, was named the winner of the 2018 MedTech Breakthrough Awards for ‘Best Overall Genomics Solution.’

Leading genetics diagnostics firm MedGenome Labs Ltd said it has completed its Series C round of $40 million after getting an additional $10 million from private lender HDFC Ltd, insurer HDFC Life and HDFC Asset Management.

Last August, it had raised $30 million in Series C from Sequoia India and Sofina s.a., with participation by Zodius Capital; Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder and former CEO of Infosys; and Lakshmi Narayanan, former CEO of Cognizant.

USA Weekly has been interviewing companies from around the world to discover what challenges they are facing in their businesses. We also asked each company to share business advice they would give to a younger version of themselves.

Below is our interview with Sam Santhosh, Founder, Chairman and Global CEO at MedGenome:

What does your company do?

MedGenome is a genomics research and diagnostics company with a mission to improve global health by decoding the genetic information contained in an individual’s genome. Its unique access to Indian genomics data with clinical and phenotypic details provides insights into the biology of complex diseases to facilitate research leading to personalized health care. MedGenome is the market leader for genomic diagnostics in South Asia and a leading provider of genomics research services globally. MedGenome is also a founding member of GenomeAsia 100K initiative to sequence 100,000 Genomes in South, North and East Asia.

MedGenome presented a poster on its study of potential cancer vaccines for Lynch Syndrome patients

Attendees at the 2018 Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference heard MedGenome, a global leader in genomics research and a partner to pharma/biotech companies and academic research institutions conducting complex disease biomarker-identification projects, describe its study of potential cancer vaccines for patients with Lynch syndrome. Lynch syndrome is an inherited condition linked to higher risk of various forms of cancer, including a 70 percent to 80 percent lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer, with a mean onset age of 45 years.

Dr. Papia Chakraborty, senior scientist and head of immuno-oncology at MedGenome, spoke on “A Personalized Cancer Vaccine Approach to Treat Lynch Syndrome.”

Genomic diagnostics and research firm MedGenome plans to ramp up its research in the single-cell and immuno-oncology spaces while continuing to make inroads in the clinical genomic testing market in India.

The company has next-generation sequencing laboratories in Bangalore, India; Foster City, California; and Singapore. MedGenome CEO Sam Santhosh said that the Bangalore lab is primarily a diagnostics lab, while its large research projects are run mainly from its Foster City laboratory.

Last year, the firm raised $30 million in a Series C financing round, which it has used in part to expand its Foster City lab and purchase new technology, most notably 10x Genomics’ Chromium system and Illumina’s NovaSeq instrument.

Santhosh said that the company plans to focus upcoming research in the immuno-oncology space, including using single-cell sequencing techniques to analyze the tumor microenvironment.