British healthcare company Healx has secured a £1.5 million investment from global technology backer, Amadeus Capital Partners and other investors. The investment will aid the company’s goal of seeking new uses for existing drugs in the fight against rare diseases.
Investment
The investment is part of Series A round which includes other backers such as healthcare entrepreneur, Jonathan Milner. Board members include bio-tech entrepreneur, Darrin Disley, and drug development leader, David Brown, co-inventor of Viagra.
Healx uses advances data analytics, including machine learning and computational biology techniques, alongside scientific literature analysis, to find new drug applications for rare disease. They engage directly with patient advocacy groups allowing them to lead the way in personalised healthcare for rare diseases.
The company’s scalable technology platform allows it to match potential treatments to rare conditions and patients. Its data mining will potentially save the company time to complete its drug repurposing studies.
Hermann Hauser, partner and co-founder of Amadeus Capital Partners, said, “Healx has taken advances in machine learning, data mining and analytics and combined them with deep pharma and life sciences expertise to address a growing need in the healthcare sector. With huge pressure on R&D budgets, drug repositioning will be essential in the fight against rare diseases. With this investment, Healx will take up a leadership position in the drug repurposing sector, expected to be worth over $31 billion by 2020.”
To help combat rare diseases, Healx has won contracts from major medical foundations in the US and Europe to find drug candidates to treat conditions including childhood diseases, Barth syndrome and Fragile-X.
Tim Guilliams, chief executive, Healx, said: “Studies into rare medical conditions have long failed to receive adequate funding. By repurposing existing drugs to combat rare diseases, Healx is able to find potential treatments at a fraction of the cost and in a much shorter timeframe than developing a new drug. With this investment, Healx will have the resources to expand our technology platform and accelerate our drug review process to find treatments to many more devastating illnesses.”