HDFC backs MedGenome's pan-India expansion

MedGenome Labs Ltd., a genetic diagnostics company in India, announced an investment by HDFC Ltd., HDFC Life and HDFC Asset Management to complete its Series C funding of USD 40 million.

MedGenome will utilise this capital to expand the clinical genomic testing market by penetrating all the Tier II and Tier III cities and democratise the critical genetic tests like noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPT) and newborn genetic testing.

The company also plans to establish more genetic centres in hospitals across the country to support clinicians and to enable patients to make informed decisions.

"We believe understanding genetic information can have a big impact on Indian healthcare industry through early detection of disease risk and development of new medicines. We are very happy to see an Indian company take a lead in a deep technology area like genomics and have decided to support MedGenome in its endeavour to make genetic tests affordable and accessible widely," said HDFC Group Chairman Deepak Parekh.

MedGenome operates the largest CAP-accredited Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) lab in South Asia. MedGenome's diagnostics tests include many breakthroughs for genetic diagnostics including the first proprietary liquid biopsy (OncoTrack) for monitoring cancer treatment, non-invasive prenatal screening test (NIPT) for pregnant women, carrier screening for couples planning for children, and whole exome sequencing for cost-effective identification of rare mutations.

The company, in the long run, aims at reducing the burden of inherited diseases in India and assist clinicians in implementing precision medicine.