Genesis Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech leveraging artificial intelligence for drug discovery, has raised $200 million in Series B financing to advance its pipeline of novel drug candidates enabled by its AI platform.
The oversubscribed round was co-led by an undisclosed U.S. life sciences investor and returning lead investor Andreessen Horowitz. Several new backers also participated, including Fidelity Management & Research Company, BlackRock, NVIDIA's venture arm, and prior investors like Menlo Ventures. This brings Genesis' total funds raised to over $280 million since its founding.
At the heart of Genesis' innovation lies the Genesis Exploration of Molecular Space (GEMS) platform. This AI-driven system, poised to be a game-changer, focuses on producing unique molecules and predicting critical properties with high accuracy, enabling effective drug candidate identification even for targets that historically presented challenges.
GEMS allows Genesis to create first- and best-in-class small molecule drugs with extremely high potency and selectivity, to address challenging and previously undruggable targets.
The latest capital injection will be used to advance Genesis' AI-enabled programs into the clinical development. Moreover, it aims to expand its horizons by launching new initiatives targeting underserved patient populations and capitalizing on the GEMS platform to develop breakthrough therapies.
Evan Feinberg, the CEO of Genesis, emphasized the potential of AI in revolutionizing drug discovery. He remarked on the firm's imminent milestones, with their first set of AI-empowered drug candidates slated for clinical use. Feinberg also acknowledged the significance of the investors, expressing confidence in the expansive reach and potential of the GEMS AI system in catering to patients with critical medical voids.
The company appears poised for an inflection point, with its first AI-designed compounds expected to enter human testing soon. The new backers provide added momentum, combining expertise in life sciences, AI, and financing.
Further endorsing the company's trajectory, Vijay Pande, Ph.D., a founding general partner at a16z Bio + Health, lauded Genesis' prowess in marrying deep learning with simulations. Pande, who holds a remarkable academic history and contributed to foundational Genesis technologies, spotlighted the transformative potential when technology meets biomedicine. Genesis' advancements, he believes, are not just technological marvels but are symbolic of the hope they carry for countless patients banking on medical innovations.
The company has not just been buoyed by investor support but has also forged crucial partnerships with established names in the industry, such as Genentech and Eli Lilly.
Genesis represents an emerging wave of biotechs working to transform drug discovery with AI. Its latest financing and progress toward the clinic signal continued momentum for this approach. With its GEMS platform unlocking novel chemical spaces, Genesis aims to deliver transformative breakthroughs that could redefine therapeutic avenues.