Biotech plans to sequence the genomes of 200,000 Brazilians

gen-t, a biotech created by renowned Brazilian scientist Lygia da Veiga Pereira, has reached R$16 million in investments (US$3.3 million), with an extension of the initial pre-seed.

The company is building a pioneering platform that brings together genomic and health data in an optimized way, with a view to including the Brazilian population in precision medicine and thus fostering research and innovation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry based on our genomic diversity.

In this second stage of funding, gen-t received support from investors who had already bet on the startup, such as the founder of Gávea Investimentos and former president of the Central Bank, Armínio Fraga, and also received funding from new strategic investors, such as Eurofarma.

Eurofarma, through the Eurofarma Ventures fund, is the first Brazilian pharmaceutical company to invest in gen-t. Outside Brazil, the US pharmaceutical company Roivant Sciences is also investing in biotech.

The new funding will be used to expand the gen-t Brazil Project, which plans to sequence the genomes of 200,000 Brazilians from different regions of the country by the end of 2026. These volunteers will share their health and behavioral data with gen-t and donate blood for plasma storage and DNA sequencing.

“gen-t’s proposal is to be a strategic partner for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, promoting inclusion and diversity in the development of health innovations through Brazilian genetic diversity,” Lygia summarizes. “We want to open up a new horizon of discoveries in genetics.”

Lygia da Veiga Pereira has a PhD in human genetics from Mount Sinai Graduate School in New York and is a full professor of human genetics at USP. Her team includes other renowned geneticist consultants, such as Tábita Hünemeier, PhD in population genetics, and Alexandre Pereira, a cardiologist.

Genomic data scenario

Currently, the existing genomic databases do not represent the world’s population. Of the total genomes sequenced worldwide, 80% are European, 10% are Asian, 7% are unidentified, 2% are African and only 1% are Hispanic or Latin American. This lack of diversity leads to inequality in medical advances and lost opportunities in health research and innovation.

The gen-t platform will be the largest database of genetic variants in a Latin American population, addressing this inequality and lack of diversity in global genomic databases and paving the way for more inclusive genetic research. In addition, the bank will have an international impact as it is the first human population to be sequenced that is highly miscegenated and at the same time neglected in current major genomic studies.

Investors

In addition to pharmaceutical companies Eurofarma and Roivant Sciences and businessman Armínio Fraga, gen-t also has Eduardo Mufarej, founder of GK Ventures, and American Daniel Gold as investors.