AI health firm Healx bags $56m funding as it looks to fast track rare disease treatments
Health tech firm Healx has secured $56m (£44m) in a Series B funding round as it looks to launch a new accelerator programme to find treatments for rare diseases.
The Cambridge-based company said it raised the funds from European venture capital giant Atomico, Global Brain and Btov Partners, as well as its existing investors.
Read more: Healthcare giant Philips issues profit warning on US-China trade tariffs
The artificial intelligence (AI) firm said it will use the cash injection to develop its therapeutic pipeline and to launch a new scheme with partnering companies to help move new treatments to clinical trials within 24 months.
“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 chief executive Dr Tim Guilliams.
“It allows us to scale our impact with the launch of our rare treatment accelerator programme and to progress into clinical trials.”
Healx deploys AI to help speed up the drug discovery process, which can take more than a decade under the traditional model.
The firm has outlined a plan to advance 100 rare disease treatments towards the clinic by 2025.
As part of the funding, Atomico principal Irina Haivas, a former surgeon, will join the board of Healx.
Read more: NHS software delays cause headache for digital health firm Babylon
“We believe that the new paradigm in drug discovery will emerge at the intersection of technology, data, and biology, and we’re confident that Healx’s team is paving the way to a new gold standard in rare disease treatment discovery,” she said.
The latest backing follows a $10m Series A round in 2018. Since then the firm has beefed up its senior executive team and more than doubled headcount.
Main image credit: Getty