Sano Genetics is a Cambridge, UK-based provider of a software platform for precision medicine clinical trials. The platform combines genetic testing, recruitment, and long-term patient engagement to accelerate enrollment and simplify operations for precision-medicine teams and patients. It connects patients across the UK, US, Australia and Canada with pharmaceutical and biotech companies conducting clinical trials, and works with researchers and patient advocacy groups. The company recently raised $11.4M, bringing total funding to $22M, and intends to use the proceeds to further automate processes and integrate LLMs and other AI tools to drive productivity. In the past 12 months Sano scaled capacity to hold three times more trials than the year before and launched its first programme supporting families affected by ALS. Founded by Patrick Short (CEO), Charlotte Guzzo (COO) and William Jones (CTO), Sano aims to make it easier for patients to access precision medical treatment and for companies to bring new drugs to market more quickly. Sano Genetics builds a patient-friendly software platform that connects patients with rare and chronic conditions — including Long Covid, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s — directly with biotech and pharma companies running personalised-medicine research. The product also enables biotech and pharma clients to power branded portals for participant recruitment and ongoing engagement. The company raised $11 million in a Series A led by MMC Ventures, with follow-on funding from Episode 1, Seedcamp and several operators including Paul Forster, Paul Wicks and Margo Georgiadis. Sano previously raised £3 million in seed funding to develop its platform and bring in customers and partners, such as BenevolentAI, ESCAPE Bio and the NIHR BioResource. The Series A proceeds will be used to expand the team in the U.S. and Europe and to develop the platform to meet demand across more than 50 diseases and in over six countries by mid-2023. The startup is targeting the personalised-medicine market (estimated at $52.4 billion in 2020 and projected to reach $112.8 billion by 2027) and aims to reduce recruitment friction, participant dropout and R&D costs that slow drug development. Sano Genetics has built a “private-by-design” technology platform to increase patient participation in medical research and clinical trials, including at-home genetic testing capabilities. Founded in 2017 by Charlotte Guzzo, Patrick Short and William Jones after meeting at Cambridge University, the company matches relevant participants to studies and guides them through the process. It supports research into multiple sclerosis, ankylosing spondylitis, NAFLD and ulcerative colitis, with a Parkinson’s disease programme planned for later in 2021. Sano focuses on clear user data controls, personalised genetic reports, research updates and community content to keep participants engaged. The company generates revenue by charging biotech and pharma clients a set-up fee, a per-test fee for at-home genetic testing and analysis, and a fee for each referral of an eligible participant. New capital will fund free at-home DNA testing kits for 3,000 people affected by Long COVID, further platform development and team growth.

Total raised

$26M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jan 2024