Country for PR: United Kingdom
Contributor: PR Newswire Europe
Wednesday, September 14 2022 - 02:13
AsiaNet
Debiopharm Co-leads a 10M USD Series A Round to Accelerate the Development of Genomic Medicines through Artificial Intelligence
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Sept. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

Debiopharm Innovation Fund strategically invests in Whitelab Genomics' mission 
to make genomic medicine development faster and leaner for more efficient 
access to cancer patients in the future

Debiopharm Innovation Fund, the strategic investment arm of Swiss 
biopharmaceutical company Debiopharm 
(www.Debiopharm.com)[https://www.debiopharm.com/], announced today their 
investment in Whitelab Genomics alongside French Venture Capital company, Omnes 
Capital, in a $10 Million Series A Round to advance their mission to accelerate 
the development of genomics medicines via technology powered by artificial 
intelligence (AI). Whitelab Genomics' computational platform reduces 
biotherapies' development time and cost, enabling faster access to the market 
and cheaper therapeutic solutions available for patients in need. Debiopharm's 
investment in Whitelabs Genomics contributes to the growth plan of the 
start-up' R&D team and US operations. Such an investment aligns with 
Debiopharm's focus on investing in digital health solutions that improve the 
cancer patient journey, transform pharmaceutical R&D, and shift healthcare 
towards a more patient-centric approach.

Founded in 2019 by David Del Bourgo, MBA, and Julien Cottineau, Ph.D., 
alongside a team of world-class data scientists specialized in AI, 
computational biologists, molecular biologists, and genomic medicine 
scientists, the start-up offers in-silico simulations customized for target 
discovery, vector, and payload design, genotoxicity assessment and 
identification of experimental protocols of in vitro and in vivo strategies.

"We're moving into a time where AI-based technology will play a critical role 
in drug development. With better ways to develop drugs, de-risk assets, de-risk 
any toxicity, and ensure efficacy, we're able to bring more personalized drugs 
to patients – that's precisely what Whitelab Genomics is proven to do," stated 
Tanja Dowe, CEO of the Debiopharm Innovation Fund.

"The value of using this AI-based platform is the potential acceleration of 
pre-clinical, translational stage, helping drug research companies quickly 
design payloads and vectors and identify the best experimental protocols for in 
vitro and in vivo tests," said Hamzeh Abdul-Hadi, Investment Director of the 
Debiopharm Innovation Fund.

"We are very excited to close this first institutional investment round with 
such renowned investors with deep knowledge of the pharma environment. With 
this funding, we can continue developing our proprietary data sets and 
algorithms for both payload and vectors, and develop our collaborations with 
our customers," expressed David Del Bourgo, CEO and co-founder of Whitelab 
Genomics.

About Whitelab Genomics

WhiteLab Genomics, based in Paris and Cambridge (MA) was founded in 2019 by 
David Del Bourgo and Julien Cottineau, experts in genomics drug development and 
commercialization. WhiteLab Genomics aims to revolutionize genomic therapies 
development using public and private data and in-house AI algorithms. Whitelab 
Genomics supports its clients through the in-silico development phases enabling 
them to quickly develop target vectors and payloads and save precious time 
needed to give patients access to new genomic therapies. In only 2 years, 
Whitelab Genomics has convinced leading European and US Biotech and pharma to 
use its solutions for their new drug development programs, including RNA, DNA & 
Cell therapies. WhiteLab Genomics is also collaborating with world-renowned 
INSERM and Genethon laboratories and has been selected by Y-Combinator in its 
Winter 2022 batch. The company has won multiple awards, including the Galien 
Foundation nominee for startups, the Alumni New Venture Fund from the Polsky 
Innovation Center at the University of Chicago, and the Future 40 from Station 
F.

For more information, please visit www.whitelabgx.com [https://whitelabgx.com/]

About Debiopharm Innovation Fund

Debiopharm Innovation Fund, the strategic investment arm of Swiss 
biopharmaceutical company Debiopharm, provides strategic funding and guidance 
for companies with an ambition to improve the patient journey, re-imagine how 
clinical trials are conducted, along with companies offering digital platforms 
that support cutting-edge drug technologies. Since 2017 Debiopharm has invested 
in 14 digital health companies, typically leading the investment rounds.

For more information, please visit www.debiopharm.com/digital-health/ 
We are on Twitter. Follow us @DebiopharmNews at 
http://twitter.com/DebiopharmNews 

Debiopharm Contact 

Dawn Bonine
Head of Communications 
dawn.bonine@debiopharm.com 
Tel: +41 (0)21 321 01 11 

SOURCE: Debiopharm International SA