Pharmaphorum: Investment fuels AI-driven development of breakthrough genomic medicines
The technology’s value has been validated through partnerships with biotechs and labs in the U.S. and France to accelerate the development of genomic therapies. Genethon, a French biotech, is one such collaborator.
From Founding to $10M Series A
David Del Bourgo (CEO and co-founder, Whitelab Genomics) has always been passionate about introducing disruptive, innovative technologies to markets. Now, he leads Whitelab Genomics as its artificial intelligence (AI) platform powers the development of genomic therapies – an emerging field in which genetic sequences are injected into cells to target and repair damaged genes. Del Bourgo, Tom Gibbs (investment director, Debiopharm Innovation Fund), and Renaud Poulard (partner, venture capital, Omnes Capital) spoke with pharmaphorum about the organisation’s recent $10 million Series A fundraiser – led by Debiopharm Innovation Fund and Omnes Capital – and how Whitelab Genomics will use the capital to advance genomic medicine. “We founded Whitelab Genomics after realising the potential to use data, data science, and AI in a more systematic way to develop genomic therapies,” Del Bourgo says.
Having spent 10 years working in the genomics field, Del Bourgo noticed manufacturers spending extensive resources on drug development without harnessing the transformative power of data. He explains that bringing cutting-edge genomic therapies to market which could treat or cure life-threatening diseases can take up to 15 years and cost $2 billion – far too slow to match patients’ needs, and far too expensive on the healthcare system.
“We thought, there has to be something to help use data to make [drug developers] more efficient in bringing therapies to market faster, and at a lower price,” Del Bourgo explains. ...
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