Partnership Extends the IndyGeneUS Bio Trusted Research Environment to West Africa to Unlock Novel Genomic Targets to Advance New Therapeutics and Cures for All of Humanity
New York, NY (PRUnderground) May 20th, 2026
IndyGeneUS Bio signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nigeria’s National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA). The agreement establishes Nigeria’s National Genomics and Bioinformatics Data Generation, Repository and Management Infrastructure (NGBR). The NGBR is a sovereign national platform for genomic data generation, analytics, and bioinformatics to accelerate the discovery of new drug targets, novel biomarkers, and precision therapeutics for Cancer, Diabetes, Vision disorders (Retinitis Pigmentosa, Diabetic Retinopathy, etc.), Infectious Diseases (HIV, COVID, Malaria, TB, etc.), Biodefense and other diseases.
IndyGeneUS Bio is deploying a Trusted Research Environment (TRE), a secure, governed platform giving pharmaceutical and research leaders direct access to Nigeria’s genomic data to identify the novel disease targets that lead to new treatments and cures. The TRE is powered by IndyGeneUS Bio’s Clinico-Genomic Insight Engine
(CGIE), the AI-native intelligence platform at the core of the NGBR.
The Next Generation of Therapies Is Hidden in the 88% of Human Biology That Science Has Never Studied.
Modern medicine has advanced enormously. Yet for every disease where treatments exist, dozens remain where the underlying genetic drivers are still unknown. Existing genomic biobanks represent roughly 12% of the global population, which means all drugs, diagnostics and precision medicine interventions have been built on a narrow slice of human biology represented predominantly by white males of Eastern European descent.
The fact that 88% of humanity’s whole genome sequencing biology is missing from existing biorepositories is a structural and scientific deficiency. African and Indigenous genomes contain 40 to 50 percent more genetic variation than European-ancestry datasets. The 4.6 million unique genetic variants present in African and Indigenous genomes represent a new universe of drug targets, disease pathways, and biological mechanisms that no pharma pipeline, AI model, or research institution has ever had the opportunity to study. Because human biology is shared, discoveries made from diverse genomic data improve therapeutics, risk prediction, and drug efficacy for all people including women and people of European descent.
IndyGeneUS Bio’s Clinico-Genomic Insight Engine (CGIE) is the discovery engine that closes this gap. CGIE integrates whole-genome sequencing, electronic health records, AI-driven bioinformatics, and ancestry-specific variant analysis into a single continuously learning platform. Every genome it processes expands the global map of human disease. Every analysis reveals new targets. The result is a compounding discovery engine that grows more powerful with every sample sequenced producing the next generation of treatments for cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurodegeneration, vision disorders, rare diseases, and infectious conditions where existing science has been limited by structural limitations of existing biobanks.
Unlike AI genomic discovery platforms acquired for hundreds of millions based on models and engineers alone, IndyGeneUS Bio brings what no acquirer can build on any timeline: the AI engine, the sovereign infrastructure, over one million validated whole-blood samples under exclusive agreement, signed commercial contracts on two continents, an active U.S. Army CRADA, an experienced expert team, and the only representative genomic biorepository in existence all operating simultaneously.
“The next trillion-dollar discoveries in medicine lie in the genomes the world has overlooked. Nigeria’s participation in the NGBR means the variants, the targets, and the cures that have been invisible to science will now be found. Not just for Nigerians. For every patient on Earth whose disease shares a biological root in the complete representation of the human species that we are finally mapping to leapfrog the next generation of therapies and cures.”
Yusuf Nkrumah Henriques, Founder & CEO, IndyGeneUS Bio
Nigeria’s National Genomic Infrastructure is Launched
The NBRDA MOU establishes the IndyGeneUS Bio representative genomics insights platform and its companion representative biorepository to establish the NGBR-TRE. It is a sovereign national repository and bioinformatics platform covering healthcare, agricultural biotechnology, and bioeconomy priorities. Nigeria has more than 200 million people. Its biological diversity has been shaped by millennia of human migration and adaptation. The genomic information held in Nigerian populations cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
The NGBR will expand the current samples and derive insights from Nigerian genomic data under full national sovereignty. The scientific and economic value of Nigeria’s biological heritage stays in Nigeria. At the same time, what is discovered contributes to a global ecosystem that benefits all of humanity. The platform will operate under the same compliance architecture already running at The Aurum Institute IndyGeneUS Bio TRE in South Africa.
“Nigeria is ready to take its place at the forefront of the global bioeconomy. This collaboration with IndyGeneUS Bio gives our nation the infrastructure to generate, own, and leverage the genomic intelligence of our people. For the benefit of our people. And for the advancement of science worldwide.”
Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, Director General, NBRDA, Nigeria
Building Momentum: Advancing Treatments and Cures Powered by IndyGeneUS Bio
The NBRDA agreement is the latest in a series of institutional partnerships and operational milestones across Africa and the United States.
The Aurum Institute (South Africa) — Exclusive sequencing agreement covering more than one million whole-blood samples. TRE operationally deployed and generating its first commercial genomic insights.
NBRDA (Nigeria) — MOU to build the NGBR, establishing sovereign genomic infrastructure across West Africa’s largest nation.
U.S. Army DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center — Active CRADA for defense genomic intelligence applications, with collaborative R&D underway.
W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute — MOU establishing a National Clinico-Genomic Research Network connecting Howard University, Meharry Medical College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Charles R. Drew University.
HITLAB Validation — Independent evidence assessment by HITLAB, an international healthcare innovation research laboratory, analyzed 48 peer-reviewed sources across eight domains and established IndyGeneUS Bio as the category leader in “Representative Genomic Intelligence.” Access the HITLAB Missing 88% Evidence Paper here.
The distinction is fundamental. AI models can be replicated. Novel biological data cannot. Every sample in IndyGeneUS Bio’s biorepository represents a genomic signature that took millennia to evolve and cannot be recreated in any laboratory. That is the asset. IndyGeneUS Bio holds over one million verified whole-blood records from African and Indigenous populations. It is the largest representative genomic biorepository available for sequencing today. One hundred thousand clinico-genomic samples are targeted for full commercial licensing by Q4 2026, the first tranche of a discovery asset spanning disease markets exceeding $900 billion globally.
About IndyGeneUS Bio
IndyGeneUS Bio is a BioFinTech company deploying its Clinico-Genomic Insight Engine (CGIE). IndyGeneUS Bio operates a sovereign intelligence platform that transforms the world’s most diverse genomic dataset into novel drug targets, biomarkers, and therapeutic pathways. By filling the representational gap in global genomic data, IndyGeneUS Bio accelerates the discovery of treatments and cures that will benefit women, people of color, people of European descent, and all of humanity. The biological variants most likely to unlock the next generation of medicine are found in the genomes that science has studied least. The company holds over one million verified whole-blood records from African and Indigenous populations through exclusive agreements with The Aurum Institute, Global Health Innovations, and NBRDA. IndyGeneUS Bio’s sample portfolio covers disease categories with a combined global market exceeding $900 billion. The CGIE platform, powered by Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, converts those samples into actionable discovery intelligence for researchers and pharmaceutical leaders. Discover more at IndyGeneUS.Bio. HITLAB, an independent international research laboratory, has identified IndyGeneUS Bio as the category leader in ‘Representative Genomic Intelligence.’
About the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA)
The National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency is the Nigerian federal agency responsible for promoting biotechnology research and development for national advancement. Established in 2001 and renamed NBRDA in March 2024 in recognition of its research mission, the Agency operates under Director General Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha to advance Nigeria’s position as a leader in agricultural biotechnology, healthcare innovation, and the bioeconomy. Its mandate includes building the scientific infrastructure through which Nigeria will generate, manage, and leverage biological data in service of national health, food security, and economic growth.
About HITLAB
HITLAB is an impact-first organization that offers digital health research, teaching, and advisory services to improve health delivery around the world.
At HITLAB, we believe technology and health can work together to improve the quality of health delivery and healthcare worldwide. We use rigorous research and evidence-based methods to identify the best digital health solutions for each of our partners.
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