Chinese genetic testing player for infectious diseases gets Series B+
Chinese genetic testing specialist Genskey raised an RMB50 million ($7.1m) extended Series B round of funding led by Shenzhen-based Fortune Capital. Existing investor Legend Capital re-upped.
The company announced this month that it had developed a new testing kit for infectious diseases - including the latest strain of the coronavirus - that can deliver diagnoses within in an hour. An initial batch of 10,000 kits was sent to the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak is most severe, last week.
There were 17,205 confirmed cases of the virus as of February 2, according to Chinese and World Health Organization data. The vast majority of these are in mainland China, where approximately 360 people have died. One of the biggest challenges for healthcare professionals is a shortage of testing kits that make quick diagnoses.
Established in 2017, GensKey focuses on pathogen diagnosis. It claimed to have worked with more than 100 hospitals and 1,000 doctors. The company’s flagship product - Jinshiyuan - is said to be able to detect all 13,238 pathogens for which there are official records.
Zhi Jiang, the founder of Genskey, worked for BGI Group before setting up Novogene, a genomic services provider that has received VC funding. GensKey is the latest in a string of genetic testing businesses to raise capital in 2020. Others include AmCare Genomics Lab and Geneseeq.
GensKey secured RMB100 million in Series B funding last November from SBCVC and two domestic fund-of-funds, Shanghai Linchuang Capital and Yuanju Capital. Legend Capital led the Series A in early 2019.
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