- Co–Founder Sam Santhosh steps down as Chairman and Group CEO; will remain on Board of Directors
- Co–founder Mahesh Pratapneni appointed Group CEO
- Dr. Felix Olale appointed Chairman of the Board
MedGenome, South Asia’s leading genomics research and diagnostics company, today announced that Sam Santhosh, co–founder and currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will transition from his executive leadership role and move to the company’s Board of Directors. Mahesh Pratapneni, who co–founded MedGenome with Santhosh, and has been the Chief Strategy Officer, will take over as Group CEO. Dr. Felix Olale, Partner of LeapFrog Investments, who has served as a Board member after leading a US$55 million investment into MedGenome in 2020, has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors. This new leadership, along with the existing core management team, will continue to lead the company’s next phase of growth.
Santhosh and Pratapneni founded MedGenome in 2013 with the vision to revolutionise healthcare management using the power of genomics. Since then, the company has come a long way in the genomics space. From catering to the genetic testing market needs, to improving accessibility and affordability, focussing on genomics research, building partnerships, creating awareness and the recent foray into personal genomics, MedGenome has made remarkable progress in the last decade.
“It has been an honour and privilege to lead this company as Chairman and CEO, and I am pleased to continue to serve as a member of the Board. I am confident that MedGenome will continue to thrive under the able leadership of Mahesh and Felix,” said Sam Santhosh. “The Covid pandemic has further highlighted the importance of genomics and population genetics. I am hoping to work closely with the Government of my home state of Kerala to enhance the Government’s initiatives in this area. I have recently taken on an Advisory role in K–DISC (Kerala Development and Innovation Strategy Council) and joined the Governing body of the Kerala Startup Mission to support entrepreneurs.”
Incoming Group CEO, Pratapneni has been with MedGenome from its inception, and since that time has led corporate development, strategy and investor engagement for the company. Continuing to work with him will be India and South Asia CEO, Dr. Vedam Ramprasad, whose strong industry and scientific knowledge has been instrumental in scaling the business and building strategic partnerships; Dr. Sekar Seshagiri, CSO, who brings more than two decades of genomics research experience; and CFO, Surajit Chakrabartty, who has been responsible for managing the financial growth of the company. Pratapneni said, “MedGenome’s growth story has been phenomenal so far, as the market leader in both India and South Asia. We now see incredible potential for genomic medicine to democratize access to these innovations and improve the prospects of drug discovery in low– and middle–income countries across South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Working with pathology labs and health systems in these countries, we are well poised to ride the exciting wave that the global genomics industry has to offer in the coming decades.”
Dr. Olale said, “Globally, we are seeing a seismic shift in the field of personalized medicine. Advances in genomics are at the heart of improvements in disease risk assessments, diagnosis of complex and rare diseases and in the selection of companion therapeutics for long standing medical challenges such as cancer. There are two reasons why I believe MedGenome is well-positioned to dramatically increase access to these innovations – not just for the populations of low– and middle– income economies, but also for North America and Europe. First, MedGenome can deliver the same diagnostic tests at the same global standard of quality, but at a fraction of the cost; and second, MedGenome has the world’s largest proprietary database derived from populations of South Asia and Africa, which contain a richer set of genetic variations, disease associations and founder effects. I am excited about the impact that MedGenome and its world class team of scientists will have on patients and their families; and I am truly honoured to take over as Chairman of MedGenome, to work alongside Mahesh, Ram, Sekar and Surajit, during this very important period in the history of our world.”
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