Genuity Science, a US-based genomics analytic services provider backed by pharmaceutical firm WuXi AppTec, has been acquired by cancer treatment developer HiberCell in an all-stock transaction worth an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition includes the Genuity Science business and its subsidiaries, Genuity Science (Iceland) and Genuity Science (Ireland). It also provides HiberCell with some $100m in cash and partnership agreements with pharmaceutical firms Ionis Pharmaceuticals and AbbVie.
The combined company is set to accelerate its clinical programmes and expand its pipeline of pre-clinical programmes by utilising artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology.
Genuity was founded as Nextcode in 2013 and has developed a genomics analytics technology and computational platform that is used to generate insights on human biology and disease.
WuXi AppTec acquired the business in 2015, changing the name to WuXi NextCode. The company began to operate independently from WuXi AppTec from 2017.
The company underwent a restructuring in June 2020, in which it rebranded to Genuity and separated from WuXi NextCode’s Shanghai operations.
Hannes Smarason, co-founder and CEO of Genuity, said: “We believe pairing HiberCell’s success in advancing differentiated oncology medicines into the clinic with Genuity’s advanced technologies in genomic research and one-of-a-kind AI-ML platform will break new ground for what is possible in cancer drug discovery.”
Irish sovereign wealth fund Ireland Strategic Investment Fund supplied $70m to Genuity in 2018, leading a $200m series C round that also included Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek, Yunfeng Capital and Sequoia Capital.
Genuity closed its series B round at $240m in September 2017, after Sequoia led a $165m extension featuring Temasek, Yunfeng and 3W Partners.
Pharmaceutical firm Amgen’s corporate venturing arm, Amgen Ventures, had contributed to a $75m tranche of the series B round that was co-led by Temasek and Yunfeng four months earlier.
Genuity already received $15m of series A funding from Polaris Partners and Arch Venture Partners in 2013.