Vietnamese genetic testing company Gene Solutions has received US$21 million in a Series B financing round from Fund IV of local PE firm Mekong Capital, according to a TechInAsia report.
This comes two years after the firm secured US$15 million from Mekong in 2021.
Established in 2017 by Vietnamese scientists, Gene Solutions has developed triSureFirst, a noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) for detecting abnormalities of chromosome numbers in the fetus, such as Down Syndrome, Edwards, and Patau.
The test, based on detecting cell-free DNA of the placenta, is released into the mother’s blood to assess the risk of the fetus suffering from birth defects due to chromosomal number abnormalities.
The company claims that triSureFirst’s positive predictive value is 94 per cent for all three syndromes.
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Since 2018, Gene Solutions claims to have made accurate tests accessible to over 500,000 pregnant women, helping over 65,000 pregnant women avoid unnecessary amniocentesis.
The startup has a presence in Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. It also expects to open an oncology laboratory in Singapore in November 2023.
Established in 2001, Mekong Capital invests in private Vietnamese companies. Its latest fund, MEF IV, with a fund size of US$246 million, focuses on retail, education, restaurants, consumer services, FMCG, and health care. Its portfolio companies include Entobel, Marou, Mutosi, HSV Group, LiveSpo Global, and Rever.
In March this year, MEF IV completed an investment of US$20 million in F88. In May 2023, Reuters reported that Mekong Capital is looking to build a climate fund worth up to US$200 million as early as next year.
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