Deep Genomics Raises $180M to Fund AI Therapeutics, Expand in Cambridge

Canadian artificial intelligence therapeutics company Deep Genomics has announced the closing of a $180 million Series C financing round with SoftBank Vision Fund 2 leading the financing. Deep Genomics uses AI and machine learning to program and prioritize transformational RNA therapeutics for genetic diseases. The company plans to link its teams in Toronto with the Boston-Cambridge biotechnology hub and continue to grow its footprint in both Toronto and Cambridge, with the expectation to double its size in two years.

Since its founding in 2015, Deep Genomics has built a suite of predictive systems known as the AI Workbench, which has made billions of predictions across the entire human genome, for millions of genetic variants, and hundreds of millions of novel compounds. This level of productivity has not been possible using traditional non-AI approaches. “The potential to identify novel targets and treat genetic diseases with programmable RNA therapeutics is one of the most significant opportunities in biotech,” said Deep Nishar, Senior Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers.

“RNA therapeutics are a digital sequence of nucleotides, which means medicines have become digital information. Our AI Workbench enables us to precisely program RNA therapeutics, much like computer code, to perform a wide range of functions,” said Deep Genomics CEO Brendan Frey. “This AI Workbench, paired with terabytes of proprietary data, enables us to tackle the enormous complexity of RNA biology and identify novel targets, mechanisms, and RNA therapeutics, which cannot be found without AI. We believe this will have a tremendous positive impact on patients’ lives.”

Deep Genomics is rapidly progressing its first 10 AI-discovered programs toward the clinic. The Series C funds will help the company expand the AI Workbench and scale its pipeline to 30 programs. The platform is increasingly being applied to more complex and common diseases. As part of this, the company will embark on a large-scale data generation effort across 100 genes to identify novel targets, mechanisms, and preclinical programs. In addition, the company plans to advance four programs into the clinic by 2023, and further establish its clinical development capabilities. In parallel, Deep Genomics will continue to leverage partnerships with biopharmaceutical companies to expand its clinical development capacity. (Source: Deep Genomics Website, 28 July, 2021)