Precision medicine software platform Sano Genetics announced a $11.4 million raise led by Plural today.
The only software platform tailored to running precision medicine clinical trials, Sano Genetics leverages AI to manage all aspects, from design to patient recruitment to genetic and other biomarker testing and patient engagement.
Precision medicine is a fast-growing category — today, more than 30 percent of trials are precision-driven and are predicted to reach 80 percent by the end of the decade.
Precision medicine marks a generational shift in drug development, as clinical trials using genetic data have a 26 percent success rate compared to 10 percent for standard clinical trials.
Sano Genetics connects patients across four countries, including the UK, US, Australia and Canada, with pharmaceutical companies and biotech companies conducting clinical trials, making it easier for patients to access precision medical treatment and for companies to bring new, effective drugs to market quickly.
By providing a digital matchmaking experience for conducting clinical trials, it's quick and seamless for customers to load their new trial into the Sano platform and include the criteria for patients they're looking for.
Sano Genetics then supports the recruitment of suitable patients, including advertising through social media and via healthcare providers — onboarding participants up to three times faster than traditional methods.
Once patients are recruited, customers use Sano's platform to manage all aspects of the trial, including participant communication, facilitating genetic and other biomarker testing, returning results and even supporting patients with genetic counselling. This is all enabled through the platform's consumer-grade interface, which prioritises security and compliance throughout.
The platform has supported close to 20+ different studies, from rare and ultra-rare diseases affecting newborn babies, all the way to
neurodegenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson's.
This experience supporting patients participating in medical research inspired the launch of Light The Way, a new programme for families affected by ALS in December 2023. Light The Way offers peer support, DNA testing, genetic counselling and education.
Sano Genetics will use the new funding to run similar programs to lead the charge for predictive and preventive genetics as part of its mission to accelerate the future of precision medicine.
The new funding brings the total raised by the company to $22 million. It will be used to meet the growing demand for its products, leverage AI further and expand its reach to more countries, becoming the ultimate precision trial platform.
Plural leads the funding with participation from existing investors, including MMC Ventures, Episode 1 Ventures, and Seedcamp. It's a strategic investment by Plural, a venture capital investment firm we'll share more news about very soon.
Plural founding partner Ian Hogarth is also Chair of the UK AI Safety Institute, the first state-backed organisation focused on advanced AI safety for the public interest. It reports directly to the Prime Minister and Technology Secretary.
Patrick Short, co-founder and CEO of Sano Genetics, said:
"Precision medicine is transforming how we think about and approach healthcare, and clinical trials are the bedrock of precision drug development.
In the past 12 months, we've scaled up our capacity to hold three times more trials than the year before and launched our first programme supporting families affected by ALS.
I'm so pleased with everything the team has achieved so far and this new funding will help us to integrate LLMs and other AI tools to drive more productivity.
This will help us continue our growth trajectory, particularly with the help of visionary investors like Carina Namih, who supported our seed round and is now supporting us again at Plural."
Carina Namih, a partner at Plural, said:
"Precision medicine will transform how healthcare is delivered, but it needs seamless software tools like Sano Genetics' to accelerate its impact.
My own experience of the difficulty of running clinical trials during my time leading HelixNano helped me understand profoundly just how sorely a platform like Sano Genetics is needed.
Patrick and the Sano team have made huge strides in 2023, and I am delighted to be able to continue to support the company to bring faster, more effective clinical trials."
Lead image: Sano Genetics. Photo: uncredited.
Would you like to write the first comment?
Login to post comments