Oxford-based Genomics secures £25 million to expand

Genomics plc, the Oxford-based data science company specialising in the use of human genetic information to improve drug development, has revealed  that it has successfully closed an oversubscribed £25 million Series B financing round led by US-based pharmaceutical company Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated which also has R&D facilities in Abingdon.  Other participating investors are IP Group plc, Woodford Investment Management Ltd, Invesco Perpetual, based at Henley on Thames, Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI), Lansdowne Partners and Tanarra.

Genomics plc has also announced a collaboration with Vertex to further advance Vertex’s efforts to develop transformative medicines for people with serious diseases.

Genomics plc will use the proceeds of this fundraising to enable further expansion, to continue to enhance its powerful database and to pursue opportunities that emerge in this fast-growing space.

Genomics has developed a unique analysis engine which uses genetics to understand human biology and the likely efficacy and safety of potential novel medicines. The Genomics engine is the largest of its kind in the world, with over 100 billion data points. It links human genetic variation at over 14 million positions in the human genome to changes in 7,000 molecular, cellular, and physiological measurements and disease outcomes. The company uses breakthrough proprietary machine learning and statistical algorithms to predict the impact of therapeutic interventions.

Professor Peter Donnelly FRS, Founder and CEO, Genomics plc, said: “We are delighted to be supported by such a strong cadre of strategic and institutional investors. This fundraising will help us leverage our deep expertise in data science and genetics, our world-leading database of genomic information, and proprietary machine-learning algorithms to help bring greater precision to the discovery of new drugs.”