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Causaly, a London-based startup, has raised $60 million in a Series B funding round led by ICONIQ Growth. The company has developed an AI platform designed to accelerate the development and testing of drugs, particularly for biomedical researchers. This latest funding round brings the total amount raised by Causaly to $93 million.
Revolutionizing Drug Discovery
Causaly’s platform is used by 12 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and renowned medical research institutions, including Gilead, Novo Nordisk, Regeneron, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. These organizations utilize Causaly’s cloud-based platform across various stages of drug development, from identifying interesting targets for research and development, determining specific biomarkers for those targets, and aiding in pathophysiology to better understand diseases and potential therapeutic interventions.
The use of Causaly’s platform can significantly reduce the typical 10-15 years it takes to develop a drug from target identification to the end of trials, down to just several years. This reduction in time translates to a significant decrease in the budget required for the process. Furthermore, the platform aims to reduce the number of false starts and dead ends that characterize drug discovery, thus increasing efficiency and success rates.
A New Era in Biomedical Research
Causaly’s platform represents a new era in biomedical research, where AI and big data are leveraged to streamline and accelerate the drug discovery process. The company’s platform enables faster modeling and computations based on different chemical permutations and their effects in various environments.
“Causaly gives scientists the power to solve the world’s biggest challenges like never before. It is one of the clearest real-life applications of AI today,” said Carlos Gonzalez-Cadenas, a partner at Index Ventures. “Already rolled out by some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Causaly is actively accelerating biomedical research now.”
Future Plans
With the new funding, Causaly plans to continue its research and development efforts and expand its team. The company is unique in that it provides tools for drug discovery but does not develop its own therapeutics. This approach allows Causaly to form strong partnerships without competing with its clients.
As the field of AI-based drug discovery continues to grow, Causaly’s innovative platform is set to play a crucial role in supporting the growth and development of biomedical research and pharmaceutical advancements.
