IndyGeneUS and Emerald MOU Expands Opportunity for Women’s Health Research in Nigeria

IndyGeneUS (pronounced indigenous) AI has entered a partnership with Nigerian healthcare solutions company, Emerald Industrial CFZE , to engage participants for its upcoming Women's Health clinical research pilot study.

Earlier this year, IndyGeneUS, announced the formation of the Women’s Health Research Collaborative (WHRC) to identify common genetic variants shared among diverse populations of women diagnosed with endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Now, IndyGeneUS Bio has partnered with to include women living in Nigeria in its groundbreaking study.

“We know that American women are not the only ones suffering in silence from endometriosis, fibroids, and PCOS, so we’re not going to limit our study to one geographic region,” said Yusuf Henriques , IndyGeneUS AI founder and CEO.?

Nigeria holds one of the largest populations on the African continent. However, data on the incidence of endometriosis, fibroids and PCOS in Africa is limited. From 2013 to 2017 fibroids accounted for 6.4% of admissions and 21.3% of all major surgeries according to a retrospective study at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital?(1). Two infertility clinics in South East Nigeria reported PCOS in 18.1% of patients over a 2-year period?(2).?

“I acknowledge the significance of this study and its implications for women throughout Africa. Regrettably, merely 5% of individuals of African descent partake in clinical research, thereby posing challenges in developing drugs specifically tailored to their needs,” said Dr. Bunmi B. Babajide, CEO of Emerald. “In light of this, Emerald is wholeheartedly dedicated to collaborating with IndyGeneUS to enhance clinical research participation rates.”?

This collaboration between IndyGeneUS and Emerald is expected to facilitate enrollment of Nigerian citizens in research designed to benefit populations across the diaspora, beginning with women’s health. “By actively involving key stakeholders and ensuring that Nigeria emerges as a vanguard in the field of drug discovery, encompassing not only fibroids, but also other life-saving medications for individuals of African descent this mission will be achieved,” said Dr. Babajide.

The IndyGeneUS Precision Health DIscovery (PHD) Platform makes decentralized research possible through its use of federated data architecture. “The ability to aggregate large genomic datasets globally to find unique genetic variants will be a game-changer for the healthcare industry”, says Kadiri Adaba MBA, MD, MPH , international business consultant responsible for the Emerald and IndyGeneUS partnership.?

“For each population of women included in our study, there may be specific variants that are associated with increased risk for these conditions, similar to what we see in BRCA1/2 for breast cancer,” says Bradford Wilson, PhD , IndyGeneUS co-founder and CSO. IndyGeneUS will engage in US patient recruitment with WHRC partners, Endo Black, Inc. , The White Dress Project, Inc. , and PCOS Challenge (Showcase) .

To learn more about IndyGeneUS or our women’s health initiatives please visit indygeneus.ai and for media inquiries contact: Angel N. Livas [email protected]