£23.3 million raised in Series B

Proceeds will be used to accelerate international expansion and development of next generation Sapientia™ platform

Cambridge Innovation Capital plc (CIC), the venture capital investor focused on technology and life science businesses in the Cambridge ecosystem, has participated in a £13.3 million extension to Congenica’s Series B funding, thus increasing the total amount raised in the company’s Series B round to £23.3 million. Digital China Health Technologies Corporation Limited (DCHealth) joins as a new strategic investor, building on an existing strategic partnership with Congenica, investing alongside follow-on funding from existing investors.

“With this additional investment, Congenica is poised to become the leading clinical genomics service provider”. Dr Andy Richards, Chairman, Congenica

Congenica was recently awarded a multi-year contract to be the exclusive provider of Diagnostic Decision Support Services for the world leading NHS Genomic Medicine Service, allowing clinicians to use its Sapientia™ platform and expert support services to interrogate the human genome to identify disease-causing variants. The company is now looking to accelerate growth, with commercial scale-up to support further penetration into international markets and expand on the company’s initial focus on the US and China.

In addition, the new capital will drive the development of an enhanced product platform that harnesses the power of statistics and machine learning technology to augment the ability of users to make diagnostic decisions. In parallel, new versions of the company’s Sapientia™ platform will incorporate extensive automation and broaden the clinical and commercial focus to support cancer treatment decisions, pharmacogenomics and health management.

Dr David Atkins, CEO of Congenica, said, “With the formalisation of our partnership with the NHS, we are now focused on accelerating the introduction of important new features to our platform. These funds will allow us to automate Sapientia™, to support wider usage and reduce costs to healthcare providers, helping more clinicians provide accurate, rapid and cost-effective diagnoses to patients and their families.

“In addition, we can now begin to penetrate international markets. The deepening of our relationship with DCHealth gives us greater insight into the needs of the China market, with the recent development of an on-premise version of our platform the most notable example.”

Dr Michael Anstey, Investment Director at CIC, added, “Congenica was one of the first companies in which CIC invested. Over the last four years, the company has successfully established Sapientia™ as a globally leading platform to provide high quality variant interpretation of genome sequences. It is very exciting to see the company successfully achieving its ambition to improve lives by enabling the delivery of genomic medicine and we are delighted to continue to support Congenica as it seeks to scale internationally.”

Dr Andy Richards, Chairman of Congenica, said, “Congenica is at the exciting scale-up stage of its commercial development, at the forefront of the fast-moving genomics market. Its recent successes demonstrate that, with the right investment and leadership, world-leading technology companies can be built from UK science. With this additional investment, Congenica is poised to become the leading clinical genomics service provider and will benefit patients globally.”