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Indonesian Genomics Startup Asa Ren Closes $8.2M Funding Round

NEW YORK – Indonesian genomic testing company Asa Ren said Thursday that it has closed an early-stage but unnamed financing round worth nearly $8.2 million. Top Harvest Capital, Kejora Capital, and Marcy Venture Partners co-led the round, with participation from Northstar Ventures, Naya Capital, PT Diagnos Laboratorium Utama, and several angel investors.

As a result of the investment, Andy Zain, founder and managing partner of Kejora Capital, and Irawan Mulyadi, CEO of InterBio, have joined the board of Asa Ren.

The firm, which currently offers direct-to-consumer DNA testing and related reports, said that the new funding will help it develop clinical bioinformatics technology, including an electronic health passport, and a clinico-genomic database for noncommunicable diseases.

"This [funding] provides a ripe opportunity for innovation and genetic research to improve the health and welfare of the country. We believe Asa Ren has all the right ingredients to capture this opportunity," Zain said in a statement.

Asa Ren in November formed a partnership with Abu Dhabi-based G42 Healthcare to develop and promote genomic sequencing and bioinformatics in Indonesia in support of the country's Biomedical and Genome Science Initiative. 

The company has service agreements with almost 50 hospitals and clinics and expects to grow this number to more than 60 by the end of this year.

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