Nigerian biotech startup Syndicate Bio has announced a strategic partnership with the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT) to initiate the Cancer Genome Nigeria project, a study aimed at bridging cancer disparity gaps by studying the most prevalent cancers across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and more than 300 ethnolinguistic groups.
Launched in September by Dr Abasi Ene-Obong, previously founder and CEO of the now-defunct Nigerian genomics startup 54gene, alongside Dr Jumi Popoola and Estelle Dogbo, Syndicate Bio is leveraging collaborations with governments, pharmaceutical companies, academia and other key industry stakeholders to deepen local precision medicine impact while generating invaluable datasets that improve global health outcomes and accelerates drug discovery and development.
The company’s strategic partnership with NICRAT will be a coordinated project to address cancer diagnosis and treatment for patients in Nigeria. Through this project, the availability and accessibility of next-generation sequencing (NGS) based cancer tests in the country, would pave the way for more targeted therapeutics for patients in Nigeria. For long-term and transformative standards of care, participating physicians will also be trained in precision medicine to ensure they are positioned to provide tailored treatment solutions and support genetic counselling services to the patients involved in the program.
Debuting with a pilot study involving 100 participants and sequencing the top oncogenes associated with solid tumours (breast, prostate, NSCLC, liver and colorectal cancer) in the country, the initiative is set to expand to up to 10,000 patients in the next five years.
“The disparities in cancer care in Nigeria and across Africa, represent an ecosystem challenge that demands tailored solutions. Syndicate Bio’s approach forges collaborative engagement with existing healthcare systems and stakeholders as a means to drive local impact across Africa and inclusive advancements in global genomics. This is why our partnership with NICRAT is important for the advancement of cancer research and treatment outcomes in Nigeria, the impact of which will be felt across the world through the inclusion of diverse genomes in global cancer research. NICRAT’s reach will ensure that the benefit of this study is felt across all of Nigeria’s geopolitical regions and enable the delivery of precision medicine to patients in Nigeria,” said Dr Ene-Obong.
