Data analysis startup cashes in on precision medicine trend with $45M in tow

Seven Bridges President James Sietstra

Biomedical data analysis firm Seven Bridges reeled in $45 million in a Series A round to develop its cloud-based genomic data platform. The funding marks a milestone for the company as it revs up its technology and cashes in on the precision medicine trend.

Kryssen Capital led the funding, which will fuel "ongoing innovation" of Seven Bridges' large-scale tools for genomic research, the company said in a statement. The funds also help Seven Bridges tap into a growing market.

Government, pharma and med tech giants are all unveiling precision medicine initiatives to target new treatments for cancer. Vice President Joe Biden recently laid out a plan to spur cancer R&D and President Barack Obama has already talked up a Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) aimed at uncovering innovative therapies.

Cambridge, MA-based Seven Bridges seems well-positioned to gain ground in the field. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has tapped the company as its only commercial partner to share genomic data through the cloud. And Seven Bridges is already working with the U.K.'s 100,000 Genomes Project, which is shooting to sequence 100,000 genomes to help provide new insights on diseases and improve diagnosis.

"Our progress in platform development for both these large-scale precision medicine projects and drug research projects for pharmaceutical companies is assisted by growing our team and investing heavily in R&D. So, that's really what we're going to be using the capital for," Seven Bridges President James Sietstra recently told FierceBiotechIT.

Seven Bridges has also set its sights on expansion, and new appoints to its board could help it along the way. The company this week named former U.S. Senate majority leader Tom Daschle and Google China founder Kai-Fu Lee as board members, giving the company some clout as it looks to chart growth in the U.S. and abroad.

"We take a pretty global approach and have engaged, active conversations in countries in Asia-Pacific, Northern Europe, Middle East," Sietstra said. "Sen. Daschle, given his long history in national health policy, can help us navigate some of the PMI projects coming out of the White House and the Cancer Moonshot."

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