The Co-founder and Chief Executive officer of leading genomics startup 54gene, Abasi Ene-Obong, has stepped down from his role as the Chief Executive Officer of the Firm.
According to Nairametrics, he resignation comes barely two months after the company laid off 95 of its staff members.
It was also gathered that the startup’s Co-founder and VP of Engineering, Ogochukwu Francis Osifo, also resigned for unknown reasons about a month ago.
According to the firm via a press statement, 54gene’s General Counsel, Teresia L. Bost, will assume the role of interim CEO.
He will be assisted in the meantime by the company’s Chief Operating Officer Delali Attipoe.
It was also gathered that Dr Ene-Obong will continue to work with the company in the role of Senior Advisor and retain his position on the 54gene Board of Directors.
Reacting to his exit, the outgoing CEO, Dr Abasi Ene-Obong expressed gratitude to the board and said he will continue to work with the company as it embarks on a new phase.
“I have always believed that the scale of genetic diversity in Africa and other highly diverse populations will materially impact our understanding of biology and lead to better medicines and interventions for the global population, and I am proud of what has been achieved at 54gene. I will continue to support the company and the scientific ecosystem, particularly the African genomics ecosystem.
“Teresia and Delali bring decades of experience in building and scaling high-impact global pharma companies, and they also have deep insight into the workings of 54gene. I am excited to see them take the company to its next phase,” he said.
54gene is an African genomics research, services and development company which addresses the need to include under-represented African genomic data in research with the aim of facilitating medical breakthroughs and new healthcare solutions worldwide.
