MedGenome Labs appoints Vedam Ramprasad as India CEO

Genomics-based diagnostics and research company MedGenome Labs has appointed Vedam Ramprasad as India CEO to strengthen its operations in the country.

In his new role, Ramprasad will focus on the company’s expansion to markets in Asia and Africa, the Bengaluru headquartered company said in a statement.

“Since the inception of the company in 2013, Ramprasad has been instrumental in scaling our business. I am confident that he will be able to take MedGenome to higher levels of success,” Sam Santhosh, founder and chairman, MedGenome, said.

Ramprasad has earlier worked with medical research foundations Vision Research Foundation and Sankara Nethralaya, scientific equipment supplier Spinco Biotech and genomics company SciGenom Labs. He holds a PhD degree from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani.

“India, with more than a billion people, offers tremendous potential for human genetics and molecular diagnostics. MedGenome has created a big positive impact on genetic testing in India. I am looking forward to leading the next phase of MedGenome’s growth in a market with a large potential despite the current challenging business environment,” Ramprasad said.

Earlier this month, it raised $55 million in a growth funding round, led by London-based impact investor LeapFrog Investments.

According to a recent VCCircle report, it raised $1.4 million in venture debt from InnoVen Capital in February. The company raised multiple rounds of equity funding previously -- $4 million in a Series A round from Emerge Ventures and Papillon Capital in 2013, $20 million in a Series B round from Sequoia Capital in 2015, and $30 million in a Series C round led by Sequoia and new investor Sofina in 2017.

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Santosh founded MedGenome, which owns and operates MedGenome Labs, as a spin-off from Kerala-based SciGenom Labs, which was set up in 2009. It provides genetic testing for diseases in the areas of cardiology, connective tissues and dermatology.

Currently, genomics is widely used in areas such as oncology, infectious diseases like tuberculosis (TB), reproductive health and assisted pregnancies.

MedGenome supports human genetics research by accessing samples and data from patient records through collaborations with over 1,600 hospitals in India, it said. It has a workforce of more than 450 people across the globe with offices in India and Singapore, it added.

The company also has a next-generation sequencing (NGS) facility in Foster City, California, to support research projects for biopharma and academic institutions in the US and Europe.