Genomics, a company based in Oxford, has increased the amount raised in a Series B round that will fund further development of its genomics technology for personalized medicine.
The company adds a further €9M (£8M) to the round with the participation of Foresite Capital and F-Prime Capital, two renowned US life sciences investors. The previous closing of the Series B round, in August, involved a deal with US biotech Vertex Pharmaceuticals for the discovery of new disease targets.
Founded in 2014 as a spin-out of the University of Oxford, Genomics uses machine learning algorithms to mine genetic data and predict the outcome of a therapeutic intervention. The company claims to have the largest database of its kind, with over 100 billion data points linking genetic variations at over 14 million positions in the human genome to changes in 8,000 biological measurements and disease outcomes.
It is estimated that 90% of drugs fail in clinical trials. With its machine learning technology, Genomics aims to improve this bleak statistic. The funding will help the company further expand its database and its analytical platform.
Genomics is involved in the 100,000 Genomes Project, one of the largest projects collecting genomic data for personalized medicine applications. The project, started in 2012, hit its target of sequencing 100,000 people in the UK just last week.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are starting to gain huge traction as tools to improve the outcome of drug discovery and drug development. The UK seems to be particularly strong in this front, with several companies — such as BenevolentAI, Exscientia, Eagle Genomics, and Healx — having emerged in the last decade.
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