Precision medicine startups are getting a big vote of confidence – the kind they can take to the bank.
Google and Microsoft are among the investors putting $58 million into DNA Nexus, a cloud platform that allows a network of users to gain insight from large genomic and biomedical datasets.
Google’s deep learning bioinformatics tool called DeepVariant will use the platform to recognize genetic variants in genome sequencing data, while Microsoft’s Project Hanover is a machine learning project similar to IBM’s Watson Oncology. It sifts through medical papers and patient data to help doctors find the right drug regimen for cancer patients.
Microsoft and Google’s investment in DNAnexus is part of each company’s healthcare strategy. As website Business Insider reported, Microsoft and Google “have both developed new solutions, invested in start-ups, and entered strategic partnerships within precision medicine.”
Meanwhile, precision medicine software manufacturer Synapse will be expanding its operations with $30 million in funding it acquired late last year.
Pennsylvania based Aspire Ventures Precision Medicine Fund, a partnership between Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health (LG Health) and venture firm Aspire Universal, is putting up $300 million to go to precision medicine startups.
Essam Abadir, founder and CEO of Aspire Ventures, spoke to website The Middle Market about the attraction of precision medicine to investors.
Abadir noted that precision medicine moves healthcare away from a one-size-fits all model, which he called “lowest-common denominator” approach.
“Precision medicine moves toward precision care tailored to each individual,” Abadir said, “by matching each individual with the right treatment according to their unique biochemistry, genetics and lifestyle.
“We believe that the internet of things sensor technology, along with advances in artificial intelligence, are finally mature enough that precision medicine will generate the disproportionate balance of breakthrough health products over the coming decade,” Abadir explained.
Industry insiders typically see the precision medicine investment trend continuing. An article on Market Research Future’s website predicts that the global precision medicine market will grow at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12%, reaching $88.6 billion by 2022, compared to $38.9 billion in 2015.
DNAnexus CEO Richard Daly told the Ehost Internet Data Center website that as the volume of biomedical information increases, so will collaboration, data sharing and machine learning with larger firms. In 2017, for example, DNAnexus brought the Mosaic Microbiome Platform online. Its function, according to the article, is “to understand the human microbiome,” with assistance from Google Brain’s Center for Genomics program.
Precision medicine investment may be the single example of the much-bemoaned high cost of health care in the U.S. not being a deterrent.
For its part, the federal government is also investing in precision medicine startups, as evidenced by the National Institutes of Health recent grant of $3.1 million to SEngine Precision Medicine’s platform PARIS.
PARIS is a reference to Paris’ defeat of Achilles in Greek mythology by finding the great warrior’s only weakness. But it also stands for Personalized Aimed Robotic Informatics Sequencing and is used to grow the patient’s cancer cells into a full tumor in a lab setting, where researchers can then analyze it and find its genetic weaknesses. These tailored cancer assessments can streamline drug recommendations and improve the overall level of oncology care physicians are capable of.
According to an article from GeekWire, “SEngine and its research partners will now move into more thorough trials, gathering data needed to get FDA approval to commercialize the system.”
“The SEngine test includes major innovations: The derivation of cancer organoids, the testing of the broadest collection of targeted drugs, and a strong statistical and bioinformatics component,” said SEngine founder and CEO Carla Grandori MD Ph.D in a company video describing the PARIS test. “By directly testing the drugs to find which drugs kill, and which don’t kill a particular cancer, SEngine’s PARIS test increases the likelihood of selecting the best treatment options.”
