Participated · Series C · Aug 2024

Healx uses AI and a "biomedical knowledge graph" built from public and proprietary biomedical data to identify links between existing compounds and rare diseases, pairing digital biology and digital chemistry teams to match disease signatures with small molecules. The company’s platform applies computational techniques such as virtual screening and generative chemistry to prioritize de‑risked drug candidates drawn from compounds at various development stages or previously shelved. Its lead clinical program is HLX-1502 for neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1), an oral tablet that Healx says was derived from an existing compound and for which the company owns patents covering the NF1 indication and has received U.S. regulatory exclusivity. Healx has received FDA clearance to start Phase 2 U.S. trials for HLX-1502, expected to begin by the end of 2024, and anticipates initial clinical readouts potentially in the first half of 2026. The company is also in earlier AI-discovery or preclinical work across oncology, renal and neurology, and is testing whether the NF1 candidate works on other nerve-related diseases. Financially, Healx raised a $47M Series C and had previously raised about $68M (including a $56M Series B in 2019); it also recently announced an investment arrangement with the Children’s Tumor Foundation that will provide milestone-driven payments toward trials. The firm trimmed staff during the recent downturn (a reduction the company framed as ~45% last year) and now counts roughly 55 employees, roughly half focused on coding and ML/computational biology. Healx combines a proprietary AI-powered drug discovery platform with drug development expertise to identify treatments for rare diseases. Its lead candidate for Neurofibromatosis Type 1, HLX-1502, was identified via Healx's AI-informed approach and is on course to enter a Phase 2 clinical trial in the coming months. Healx plans to develop HLX-1502 for both plexiform and cutaneous NF1 subtypes. The company has an established partnership with the Children's Tumor Foundation (CTF) dating to 2020, leveraging CTF's preclinical, clinical and patient community knowledge. Healx has raised over $100 million to date and added a dozen projects to its risk‑balanced therapeutic portfolio. The company was founded in Cambridge, UK by Dr Tim Guilliams and Dr David Brown and positions itself as a patient‑inspired, mission‑driven techbio organisation focused on rare-disease impact. Healx applies AI and a hypothesis-free biomedical knowledge graph to identify new uses for approved drugs, focusing on rare genetic diseases. The company prioritizes drug repurposing and combination predictions rather than developing de novo molecules. It works closely with patient groups and plans to scale discovery via a global Rare Treatment Accelerator. Healx aims to progress 100 rare disease treatments toward the clinic by 2025 and to move predicted treatments into clinical testing within 24 months. Co-founder Dr. David Brown, who has previously invented drugs including work on Viagra, is cited for having contributed to products that generated roughly $40 billion in revenue. The company validated its approach with the FRAXA Research Foundation and expects further clinical programmes to begin later in 2020. Healx develops treatments for rare diseases by combining artificial intelligence and machine learning with deep pharmacological expertise and extensive patient engagement. Its core asset, HealNet, is a knowledge base mapping over one billion unique disease, patient and drug interactions, built from scientific literature, patents, clinical trials, symptoms, drug targets, multi-omic data and chemical structures. The company was founded in 2014 by Dr Tim Guilliams, Dr David Brown and Dr Andreas Bender and is based in Cambridge, UK. Healx intends to use the funds to more than double its multidisciplinary team of software engineers, data scientists, pharmacologists and drug development experts drawn from the Cambridge ecosystem. The company plans to expand its AI and machine-learning technologies to accelerate discovery and development of rare-disease treatments. Healx recently secured a $10M Series A to support these growth plans. Healx, based in Cambridge, UK and led by CEO Tim Guilliams, applies advanced data analytics—including machine learning, computational biology techniques and scientific literature analysis—to identify novel drug applications for rare diseases. The company focuses on repurposing existing drugs to address conditions that collectively afflict some 350 million people worldwide. Its model engages directly with patient advocacy groups to guide personalized approaches and research priorities. Healx has won contracts from major medical foundations in the US and Europe to find drug candidates for conditions including childhood diseases, Barth syndrome and Fragile‑X. The company intends to use newly raised funds to expand its technology platform and accelerate its drug review process to identify treatments for additional illnesses. The business emphasizes accelerating drug candidate identification through computational and literature-driven methods.

Participated · Series A · Nov 2023

ViaNautis is a Cambridge, UK–based nanomedicine company spun out of UCL in 2018 under CEO Dr Francesca Crawford. The company has developed PolyNaut®, a versatile nano‑engineered polymer technology designed for targeted intracellular delivery, described as creating a ‘bionic nanoparticle.’ PolyNaut® can be formulated to encapsulate a wide array of payloads from small molecules to genetic materials, including sizes exceeding current viral and non‑viral delivery standards. The platform enhances therapeutic efficacy through direct delivery to the cell cytoplasm, aided by the company’s GOTO® intracellular shuttling technology. ViaNautis intends to use new funding to accelerate product development, expand its scientific and management teams, and establish laboratory facilities. The business recently completed a $25M Series A financing to support these plans.