Healx, a UK-based rare disease therapy developer leveraging University of Cambridge technology, received $56m today in a series B round featuring Intel Capital, the corporate venturing arm of semiconductor technology producer Intel.
The round was led by Atomico and also featured fellow venture capital firms Global Brain, Btov Partners, Balderton Capital and Amadeus Capital Partners in addition to private investor Jonathan Milner.
Founded in 2014, Healx is working on drug therapies for rare conditions, using an artificial intelligence-equipped drug discovery platform called Healnet.
Leveraging data such as scientific literature and clinical test results, Healnet builds a biomedical knowledge graph delineating possible links between drug molecules and diseases, in a bid to identify clinical-stage candidates within a two-year period.
Healx is primarily targeting a genetic condition called fragile X syndrome which is responsible for developmental disorders such as autism.
The fragile X program has validated several candidates in partnership with Fraxa Research Foundation, a non-profit agency focused on the disease, and is currently being prepared for the commencement of clinical trials.
The series B proceeds will help the company progress its pipeline in the hope of bringing 100 rare disease treatments towards clinical testing by 2025, working alongside groups representing rare disease patient populations through a scheme dubbed Rare Treatment Accelerator.
Atomico principal Irina Haivas has joined Healx’s board of directors in conjunction with the round. Balderton Capital led its $10m series A round in July 2018, investing together with Jonathan Milner and Amadeus, which had both previously taken part in a $1.9m round in 2016.
The original version of this article appreared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.