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4 Black-Led Companies Tackling Racial Disparities in Life Sciences
24 Feb, 20266+ minutes
Black History Month, celebrated in February in the United States, is a vital time to raise awareness of racial inequality and encourage people to look closer at the pervasive issues affecting our society.
In the life sciences sector, this is especially important. According to a 2022 BioSpace article, Black Americans make up just 6% of the total life sciences workforce despite accounting for 13.4% of the overall population.
This lack of Black representation is seen across all experience levels but is most prominent at the C-suite and Board level. With so few Black professionals in key decision-making roles, we are lacking in their perspectives and opinions.
Black individuals are also hugely underrepresented in clinical trials, making disparities even worse. Recent analysis has shown that only 8.5% of participants in oncology trials are black, with this figure dropping even lower for other kinds of research. With new drugs being tested on mostly white people, people from other backgrounds are compromised and end up receiving worse overall health outcomes.
We wanted to acknowledge and show appreciation for 4 Black-led companies. These leaders aren’t just doing brilliant work for global health; they’re getting more Black people into the industry, promoting diversity and providing role models for younger people who may be unsure of their true potential.
1) Yemaachi Biotech
Yemaachi Biotech is a pioneering genomics research company founded and co-led by four individuals: Yaw Bediako, PhD, David Hutchful, MSc, Joyce Ngoi, MSc, and Yaw Attua-Afari.
Proposing a new dawn for health knowledge in Africa, the Ghanaian-based business is working towards creating the world’s most diverse cancer bio-data base – so they can eventually go on to develop innovative cancer therapies that will work for everyone across diverse communities.
With Africa contributing less than 2% to global research output, according to the Africa Report, Yemaachi’s work both highlights the disparities in clinical research and is bringing us closer to bridging the cancer data gap.
In February last year, the company partnered with Roche to launch The African Cancer Atlas (TACA), a means of generating genomic and clinical data for up to 75,000 African cancer patients. As mentioned in the press release, this will result in “up to 15,000 genomes” and help to identify “novel cancer biomarkers and therapeutic targets”.
According to their CEO Yaw Badiako: “The African Cancer Atlas is not just about filling a data gap; it is about creating a model for inclusive and equitable research”.
2) LucasPye BIO
LucasPye BIO is a contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) founded by Dr. Tia Lyles-Williams: 3x life sciences founder and first queer Black woman to lead a large-scale biomanufacturing company.
Founded in 2018 and taking off post-pandemic in 2022, her business manufactures biologic and intravenous drugs on a contract-basis. Having raised some serious capital from both private and public sources, the company committed to developing an 80,000 square foot life sciences facility in south-west Philadelphia, which will become a major employer in marginalized communities.
As well as producing life-saving drugs, one of the most important aspects for this company is to make biotherapeutics more affordable. The United States is the only country where there are no price controls on drugs and manufacturers are often responsible for setting prices. Dr. Tia is determined to create novel manufacturing processes that can scale faster and use less material to grow more biological cells – making the process faster and cheaper.
While she can’t control what drug sponsors charge, she can play a part by bringing manufacturing costs down. That way, the financial burden on patients can be lessened, particularly for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
As well as providing jobs and bringing down drug costs, 85% of the C-suite roles at LucasPye BIO are filled by people from ethnic minority backgrounds and 50% are women. With a team that reflects the real world, Dr. Tia can trust that their range of cultures, perspectives and professional experiences will see them through times of turbulence with greater stamina.
Dr. Tia was one of our panel speakers at our Women in Leadership event last year. We were very grateful to hear her expertise and, for the many young women in our audience, she showed them that no ambition or dream is too high. You can watch the conversation in full here.
3) Sökerdata
Founded by Dr. Elsa Zekeng, Sökerdata is a health data start-up with a focus on accessing inclusive data and transforming treatments globally.
As a scientist by training, Dr. Elsa has always been interested in molecular biology and infectious diseases. While she was working towards her PhD, she was particularly taken aback by biomarkers and how important they are for successful clinical research.
Biomarkers are essentially biological markers in the body that can be measured or observed. A common example would be drawing blood from a patient and examining blood sugar levels as an indicator of diabetes. According to Sökerdata’s website, biomarkers play a crucial role in early drug development and contribute to much higher success rates:
Drugs tested without biomarkers = 7% success rate
Drugs tested with biomarkers = 15% success rate
But of course, biomarkers vary across different populations. What’s considered a ‘normal’ range for blood sugar levels in one person may be much too high or low in another. Gender, ethnicity and age all affect biomarker concentrations – so when we see that, historically, the vast majority of biomarker research has focused on white males, we see an even vaster problem: a huge chunk of the population isn’t being accounted for.
This is the main driving factor being Dr. Elsa’s company. Her aim is to develop a database of biomarkers from diverse demographics and then use AI and machine learning to look at existing data and learn how to increase predictive disease outcomes – working towards a path of equal representation.
Dr. Elsa also attended last year’s event, where she spoke about her company and just how vital it is that we can gain access to genomic and clinical data from underrepresented groups. Watch the full conversation here.
4) D10 Therapeutics
D10 Therapeutics is a biotech start-up that has created a monoclonal antibody for sickle cell disease (SCD), an inherited blood disorder that affects approximately 100,000 people in the United States.
Located on the west coast, the company is run by three individuals: Dr. Metasebya Solomon, Louis Jefferson, and Brent Watson. Together, they are working to improve SCD patients’ lives and health outcomes with their novel scientific technology.
SCD primarily affects people from African and Caribbean backgrounds. In the US, 90% of people with this condition are non-Hispanic Black or African American, and roughly 3-9% are Hispanic or Latino. The condition is characterized by mutations in the hemoglobin proteins, which turn healthy blood cells into rigid, sick-shaped cells. These disfigured blood cells can block blood flow throughout the body, causing severe, sometimes debilitating pain, and in worse cases, organ damage.
So, how could their technology impact these patients? According to their website, D-10 Therapeutics is developing a treatment that works by:
Preventing damage to blood vessels by stopping the sickle cells from binding to blood vessel walls
Widening the space for blood cells to travel by relaxing smooth muscle cells
In September the company received an investment from the SMU Impact Lab of Southern Methodist University – a significant milestone which will fund pre-clinical trials for their innovative treatment. While they are seeking additional investors, this news has brought them a step closer to achieving their mission.
