It might not get acknowledged in the open every single time, but honestly, we humans just know when we see a real opportunity. This, as you would guess, helps us big time with moving ahead in a rather productive way. Now, while it can look like that such a setup is enough to facilitate our growth, we do need to put it alongside new ideas on a consistent basis. Over the years, the collaboration between our ideas and external opportunities has led us towards some really major achievements, the biggest of them, of course, being technology. Technology certainly appeared on the scene as one transformational idea, but since then, the creation has largely diversified its footprint. The move, in turn, would give it a strong presence throughout the spectrum. Amidst this turning of wheels, one big tech foray we saw happen was within the healthcare sector, and it rightfully altered our perception regarding the medical landscape forever. By looking at things right now, however, we can assume that many more positive alternations are in store, and a recently-concluded funding round does everything to validate the said assumption.
Six months after formalizing a neuroscience partnership, Eli Lily has officially joined Verge Genomics’ $98 million financing round. The fresh funding is supposed to aid Verge’s expansive drug pipeline, with the primary focus falling on a drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that is reportedly inching closer towards human testing. With Verge’s AI-driven approach getting further bolstered, there are concrete reasons to feel confident about its future prospects. You see, when Verge Genomics arrived carrying a database of human brain tissue, taken from neurodegenerative disorders’ patients for drug development purpose, it was already a big deal. Hence, having an added financial viability should allow the company to scale up what is already an advanced set of procedures.
“With our Series B completed, the quality and breadth of our shareholder base allows us to validate our platform in the clinic. The addition of new clinical datasets has the potential to dramatically improve our self-reinforcing learning platform and accelerate us towards our mission of developing better drugs, faster,” said Alice Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Verge Genomics.
Apart from ramping up developmental projects, which address genetic drivers of ALS, Verge is also performing extensive research on complications like Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, progressive supernuclear palsy, and schizophrenia.
