AI Drug Developer Healx Secures $56 million to Launch Global Rare Disease Accelerator Program

Healx, a company harnessing artificial intelligence to discover treatments for rare diseases in partnership with patient groups, completed a $56 million financing round to develop its pipeline and launch its global Rare Treatment Accelerator program.

Photo: Tim Guilliams and David Brown, co-founders of Healx

Atomico led the round with participation from Intel Capital, Global Brain and btov Partners. All previous investors, including Balderton Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners, and Jonathan Milner also participated in the round.

Where the traditional drug discovery model takes more than a decade and can run into the billions of dollars, Healx said its AI-driven approach makes the process faster, more efficient, and more cost-effective. With the launch of the Rare Treatment Accelerator, Healx and partnering patient groups will be able to scale the impact of this approach by leveraging the power of AI and combining their knowledge, information, and expertise. The company expects to be able to discover new treatments and move them towards the clinic within 24 months. Patient communities can apply to join the Rare Treatment Accelerator online.

The company previously validated its discovery model with the Fragile X Research Foundation. Fragile X syndrome is the leading genetic cause of autism. There are currently no approved treatments for the disease, but as a result of their collaboration, Healx and FRAXA will soon be launching promising clinical trials to test multiple treatment combinations. Further clinical programs for other rare diseases are set to start later in 2020. The company has set a bold goal of advancing 100 rare disease treatments towards the clinic by 2025.

“The size of this Series B financing, especially this quickly after our Series A round last year, is an endorsement of the value of our platform and the pace at which we have developed,” said Healx Co-Founder and CEO, Tim Guilliams. “It allows us to scale our impact with the launch of our Rare Treatment Accelerator program and to progress into clinical trials.”

Author: Rare Daily Staff