Somagen Secures Additional KRW 9.7 Billion GP2 Project Contract from Michael J. Fox Foundation

Somagen, a U.S.-based multi-omics analysis company, announced on August 13 that it has secured an additional contract worth approximately 9.7 billion KRW from the Michael J. Fox Foundation in the U.S. for the Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2) project, which focuses on genome analysis of Parkinson's disease patients worldwide.

The newly awarded amount is $7 million (approximately 9.7 billion KRW), which accounts for about 22% of Somagen's total sales from the previous year. The company plans to provide whole genome sequencing (WGS) services for this contract until August 1, 2026.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation, the contracting party, is a U.S. nonprofit organization established in 2000 to find treatments for Parkinson's disease. As of 2023, the foundation has raised about $2 billion (approximately 2.7 trillion KRW) for Parkinson's disease research projects. In 2022, it became the world's largest funding organization for Parkinson's research, providing more research funding than the U.S. government.

Since 2020, Somagen has been participating in the GP2 (Global Parkinson's Genetics Program) project in collaboration with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, under the leadership of the U.S. government. The project aims to conduct research and discover treatments for 150,000 Parkinson's patients worldwide. Somagen has secured patient samples from GP2 member organizations globally and has been conducting genome sequencing analyses, providing genome analysis services to identify the causes of Parkinson's disease and discover new treatments.

Hong Soo, CEO of Somagen, stated, "In the GP2 project, Somagen had already secured genome analysis orders for 80,000 Parkinson's patients through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with the Michael J. Fox Foundation in March of last year. Including this latest contract, we have now signed analysis agreements for approximately 51,300 patients and are actively providing our services."

He added, "Through these efforts, we aim not only to become the world's leading company in Parkinson's disease genome analysis, but also to solidify our position as a global genome analysis company in a wide range of disease and disorder areas."