Healx, a U.K.-based company that works with patient advocacy groups to repurpose drugs for rare diseases, reeled in $10 million in series A funding it plans to use to hire more researchers and enhance its AI platform.
The funding round was led by Balderton Capital, with additional funds coming from existing investors that include Jonathan Milner and Amadeus Capital Partners, the company said.
Healx expects to use the finance infusion to double the number of its software engineers, data scientists, pharmacologists and drug developers, as well as expand its AI and machine learning technology. Working with patient advocacy groups, the Cambridge-based developer uses data mining to uncover and repurpose existing drugs for new uses.
“Our proven approach is to start from existing drugs and apply artificial intelligence to niche disease populations, working with patient groups to accelerate treatment development,” Tim Guilliams, Healx chief executive, said in a statement.
As part of the funding round, Balderton’s Suranga Chandratillake will join the Healx board.
In a recent success, the company said it uncovered a drug to treat Fragile-X syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, that was ready for clinical use in less than 15 months.