Genskey Genomics Secures Tens of Millions RMB in Series A Funding, Emerging as a Rising Star in Pathogen Diagnostics

On April 1, 2019, GensKey, a pathogen diagnostics company, announced the completion of its Series A financing round, raising tens of millions of RMB. The investment was led by Legend Capital, and the funds raised will be used for the market promotion of its high-throughput pathogen diagnostic product, Jinshiyuan™.

The genetic testing industry has been heavily favored by venture capital firms in recent years, with significant capital inflows into its major subsectors—such as research services, oncology, reproductive health, and genetic wellness—giving rise to a number of star companies. In contrast, the diagnosis of severe infections integrated with genetic testing technologies remains a blue-ocean market.

According to statistics from the World Health Organization, three of the top ten leading causes of death worldwide are infection-related diseases. In China, there are over 10 million patients with infections annually, and more than one million deaths are attributed to infections, with the majority of cases lacking a confirmed etiology. Current conventional diagnostic methods for infections, such as microbial culture, PCR, and mass spectrometry, suffer from either low detection rates or low throughput, failing to address the critical challenges in clinical diagnosis.

When existing technologies fail to meet market demands, it signals that new technological breakthroughs will bring transformative changes to the market.

Led by Dr. Jiang Zhi, GensKey targets the pain points in medical diagnostics by applying high-throughput sequencing technology to pathogen diagnosis, addressing key challenges such as detection rate, turnaround time, and accuracy, thereby enabling timely and precise diagnoses for numerous patients with severe infections.

Dr. Jiang Zhi, Founder of GensKey

Dr. Jiang Zhi is a prominent figure in the genetic testing industry. After earning her Ph.D. in Biology from Peking University, she joined BGI Genomics as Product Director. She is also a co-founder and President of Novogene, another unicorn company that has since grown into the world’s largest provider of gene sequencing and bioinformatics services. With the establishment of GensKey, Dr. Jiang aims to better apply cutting-edge life science technologies, such as high-throughput sequencing, to the diagnosis of infectious diseases, thereby empowering more physicians to save patients’ lives.

As GensKey launched its Series A funding round, it encountered the “capital winter” of 2018. For investment institutions, they were more inclined to allocate their limited capital to established companies in the industry. For startups, the fact that many investors held back and waited on the sidelines was the most accurate reflection of this “winter.”

GensKey Genetic Medicine Laboratory Corridor

However, for GensKey, the combination of a “star team” and “high technological barriers” undoubtedly serves as a significant advantage. Coupled with its strategic focus on a rare blue-ocean market within the current genetic testing landscape, the company stands out prominently in the heavily homogenized gene sequencing sector. Following the launch of its fundraising efforts, GensKey attracted inquiries from multiple top-tier institutions active in gene sequencing and medical diagnostics. Leveraging their professional expertise in genetic testing and diagnosis, these institutions keenly recognized the company’s value. Ultimately, Legend Capital secured the lead investment in GensKey’s Series A financing round.

When asked why he chose Legend Capital, Dr. Jiang Zhi stated, “Legend Capital has a strong brand and has made systematic investments across many segments of the healthcare industry. Through our interactions with the Legend Capital healthcare team, we found that they have unique insights into diagnostic reagents and genetic testing, and are very keen to increase their investment in this field.”

In China, the infectious disease diagnostics market remains underdeveloped due to limitations in existing technologies and prevailing treatment practices, leaving many unmet needs and creating new opportunities for genetic testing technologies. GensKey has entered this space by focusing on the detection of pathogenic microorganisms causing infections, thereby exploring novel application scenarios. Its emergence underscores the substantial untapped market demand for high-throughput sequencing technologies in healthcare. In a highly homogeneous competitive landscape, only companies that resist following trends and dare to innovate can emerge as industry leaders.

Laboratory Operator

Currently, GensKey has collaborated with numerous clinical experts in fields such as infectious diseases, respiratory medicine, neurology, and critical care. These experts aim to promote its high-throughput pathogen detection product, Jinshiyuan™, from an auxiliary diagnostic tool to a first-line diagnostic solution, enabling patients with infections to receive timely confirmation of diagnosis and fundamentally addressing the issue of antibiotic misuse.

Dr. Jiang Zhi revealed that in 2019, GensKey would also launch blockbuster diagnostic products and innovative technologies, which will better address the pain points in clinical diagnosis and further solidify the company’s leading position in the field of pathogen diagnosis.