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Recent declining omics data generation costs, coupled with accelerating deployment of AI-enabled data science and digital simulation in disease biology, represent a unique opportunity to bring the immense benefits of precision medicine to metabolic syndrome patients
MultiOmic Health, an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled drug discovery company, has closed a £5 million (US$6.2 million) seed funding extension round to build its precision therapeutics discovery platform for metabolic syndrome-related medical conditions. The round was led by London-based Hoxton Ventures, with participation from Ada Ventures, MMC Ventures and Verve Ventures. Since beginning operations in May 2021, MultiOmic has raised a total of US$8.6 million, including an earlier round led by San Francisco-based Fifty Years.
“Recent declining omics data generation costs, coupled with accelerating deployment of AI-enabled data science and digital simulation in disease biology, represent a unique opportunity to bring the immense benefits of precision medicine to metabolic syndrome patients” Tweet this
“Existing treatments for metabolic syndrome-related conditions merely reduce risk or delay onset of serious consequences such as heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, foot amputation, liver failure and premature death,” said Robert Thong, MultiOmic’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Patients’ disease journeys exhibit immense heterogeneity, reflecting potentially hundreds of different disease variants that result not only from inherited genetics, but also diet, lifestyle and other environmental factors. Unlike cancer however, there are no existing precision medicines to tackle the specific molecular-level drivers of each metabolic syndrome disease variant.
“We will address this huge unmet medical need by systematically discovering, at scale, unique treatment concepts for these different disease variants. Our human-centric platform originates therapeutics from high fidelity patient data, reversing the traditional drug discovery models that initiate treatments from test tube and animal experiments. We are going from bedside to lab bench, rather than from lab bench to bedside!”
The proceeds of this financing round will be used to demonstrate proof-of-concept for MultiOmic’s MOHSAIC® platform in diabetic kidney disease. 30%-40% of diabetics eventually develop chronic kidney disease1 and these patients now account for an estimated $300 billion annually in global healthcare costs2.
MultiOmic’s MOHSAIC® platform, optimised for metabolic syndrome, combines:
Machine learning and other AI techniques to analyse complex multi-omics patient data and corresponding longitudinal clinical information;
Systems biology simulations of disease pathways; and
Iterative refinement and validation of in silico findings using targeted wet lab experiments.
“Recent declining omics data generation costs, coupled with accelerating deployment of AI-enabled data science and digital simulation in disease biology, represent a unique opportunity to bring the immense benefits of precision medicine to metabolic syndrome patients,” said Alasdair Thong, Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director of MultiOmic. “We created this venture to address a hitherto under-exploited space that can now be tackled affordably with the right tools. We leveraged our experience of start-ups and biopharma R&D to design a data strategy and operating model that avoids many of the pitfalls that befell earlier-generation AI-enabled start-ups.”
“We are very excited to be partnering with Robert and the team at MultiOmic. Metabolic syndrome and its resultant medical conditions are the most significant cause of death globally, and this is forecast to increase since COVID survivors are at a much higher risk3,4 of being affected,” said Rob Kniaz, Partner, Hoxton Ventures. “We couldn’t be more bullish about the transformational impact that innovations at the intersection of tech and bio are having on patients – we see tremendous potential in the space. Via our investment in MultiOmic, we see a very exciting opportunity to use technology to address an area of high unmet need where conventional approaches have historically failed.”
“At Ada we are investing in breakthrough ideas for the hardest problems we face. Metabolic syndrome is one of the world's biggest killers, and MultiOmic is using the latest cutting-edge techniques to develop new therapies to tackle this major health challenge. We are pleased to be invested in Robert and Alasdair and to be joining a group of great investors in MultiOmic,” said Check Warner, Co-Founder & Partner at Ada Ventures.
“After closely analysing the evolving next generation of AI drug discovery platforms, we were impressed by MultiOmic’s approach. Building a computational systems biology engine founded on a deep integrated omics dataset is the only way to address the knowledge gap in metabolic diseases. Robert has assembled a top tier multi-disciplinary team to address this complex data problem,” said Charlotte Barttelot, Principal, MMC Ventures.
“Genetics-only approaches aren't enough for understanding many diseases since they don't capture the impacts of diet and lifestyle. Analyzing multiple omics with longitudinal clinical records will help us better decipher many age-related diseases. MultiOmic was founded with this idea at the core and has assembled the team to do it,” said Seth Bannon, Founding Partner at Fifty Years.
The metabolic syndrome risk factors – faulty blood sugar regulation, excess weight, hypertension and high circulating levels of lipids such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides – affect one in three adults worldwide5, including half the population aged over 60. The resulting medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), chronic kidney disease (CKD), atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) accounted for nearly $2 trillion6 in global healthcare spending in 2019, more than cancer or any other disease. Spending on these conditions is expected to exceed $5.5 trillion6 by 2040, driven by aging populations, unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles.
About MultiOmic Health
MultiOmic Health is an AI-enabled drug discovery (AIDD) start-up focused on metabolic syndrome-related diseases. It partners with carefully selected healthcare providers to source and analyse de-identified patient data and bio-samples. MultiOmic’s MOHSAIC® platform combines integrated multi-omics analysis and computational systems biology modelling with targeted wet laboratory experiments to originate novel precision therapeutic concepts that MultiOmic commercialises via partnerships with established biopharma companies.
About Hoxton Ventures
Hoxton Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm based in London and investing in European technology start-ups that can scale into large, global winners. It focuses on start-ups that either disrupt existing industries or invent entirely new market categories. It was the first institutional investor in Babylon Health, Darktrace and Deliveroo, and its portfolio companies have grown to an aggregate value of over $47 billion. Hoxton typically invests into pre-seed and seed stage companies and follows its capital through the life of the company.
About Ada Ventures
Ada Ventures is the inclusive venture capital firm rethinking venture capital by finding and funding extraordinary talent where others aren’t looking. It invests at pre-seed and seed across climate, economic empowerment, healthcare and ageing, supporting founders with breakthrough ideas for the hardest problems we face. Since its 2020 launch, the firm’s AUM now exceeds £100m, including investment in fast-growing Bio & Health companies like R.Grid, Micrographia Bio, Onkohealth and Oxford Medical Products. Its mission is to make venture capital accessible to the best UK entrepreneurial talent.
About MMC Ventures
MMC Ventures is one of the most active early-stage tech investors in Europe. Our investment strategy is focused on enterprise AI, fintech, data-driven health, data infrastructure and cloud. For over two decades, we have partnered with founders from seed and series A stages to help them grow their start-ups. As a research-led investor, we have a deep appreciation for emerging technologies that will reshape our economy over the coming decades.
About Verve Ventures
Verve Ventures is a network and technology-driven venture capital firm based in Switzerland. Founded in 2010 by Steffen Wagner and Lukas Weber, Verve Ventures has grown to become one of the most active venture investors in Europe with around 150 science and technology-driven start-ups in its portfolio. The company invests from seed stage onward in start-ups across Europe. Verve Ventures’ dedicated team helps start-ups with their most pressing needs such as hiring, client introductions and an expert network of high-profile individuals.
About Fifty Years
Fifty Years is a San Francisco-based pre-seed and seed stage venture capital firm that backs founders tackling the world’s biggest problems.
References
‘Shared professional practice on kidney care and diabetes’, Diabetes UK. Webpage: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/professionals/resources/shared-practice/kidney-care
MultiOmic Health estimates based on global forecasts of spending on T2D and CKD for patients with both conditions using data from the WHO, CMS, IDF and CDC.
‘Diabetes risk rises after COVID’, Nature (2022). Article: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00912-y
‘Covid-19: Infection increases the risk of kidney disease even in mild cases’, British Medical Journal (2021). Article: https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2189
‘US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute ‘What is Metabolic Syndrome?’ https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/metabolic-syndrome
MultiOmic Health estimates from aggregating published statistics for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and polycystic ovary syndrome
Source: MultiOmic Health
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