Centogene Forms Saudi Arabian Joint Venture with Lifera

Rare Daily Staff

Centogene, a data-driven partner for rare and neurodegenerative diseases, and Lifera, a biopharmaceutical company wholly-owned by the Public Investment Fund, entered a strategic collaboration with the formation of a joint venture to increase local and regional access and rapid delivery of world-class multiomic testing to patients in Saudi Arabia and countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Centogene, the current market leader in outsourced genetic testing for patients in Saudi Arabia, will provide its leading diagnostics and multiomics expertise to the JV, which together with Lifera’s strong local presence and resources, will establish widespread access to local state-of-the-art genetic sequencing tailored to regional needs. The JV will build an advanced laboratory and bioinformatics infrastructure – leveraging the Centogene Biodatabank, the world’s largest real-world integrated multiomic data repository in rare disease biobanks globally and neurodegenerative diseases, which has more than 70 million, and over 35,000 Saudi Arabian, patient datasets.

The JV will develop capabilities for genetic testing and interpretation working collaboratively with Centogene globally – serving as a vehicle for large national screening and genomics programs. As such, patients in Saudi Arabia and the GCC, a rapidly growing region with over 56 million inhabitants, will have increased access to the world’s most advanced and effective diagnostic offerings, which is at the core of Lifera’s strategic objectives to contribute to improving national resilience and health outcomes in Saudi Arabia.

“With Centogene’s expertise in the field of rare, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases, we see tremendous potential value for the JV to provide more timely and accurate diagnoses which are crucial to patients and their families. This collaboration will also enable biopharma research in rare diseases and provide resources to foster collaborative research across Saudi Arabia and with global partners,” said Ibrahim Aljufalli, chairman of the Lifera Board.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lifera and Centogene will make an investment into the JV. Centogene will also be eligible for significant JV performance-related milestone payments and revenue-based royalties until the year 2033. Both parties will be represented on the board of the JV. The agreement also foresees that two Lifera representatives will join Centogene’s Supervisory Board. Centogene will also receive a $30 million mandatory convertible loan from Lifera.

“Teaming up with Lifera marks a significant step forward in our mission to deliver data-driven, life-changing answers to patients around the world and forms a pathway to achieving sustainable growth and profitability for Centogene,” said Kim Stratton, CEO at Centogene.

Photo: Kim Stratton, CEO at Centogene