Our vision is to use genomic insights to find new drug targets for serious diseases. We believe that genetic analyses can cut the sky-high costs of drug development by reducing attrition rates for new drug candidates and pinpoint subsets of patients who will benefit the most from such treatments. By developing better drugs more quickly, we can help patients whose current treatment options are inadequate.
Genomics plc is an ambitious genome analysis company formed in 2014 by four leading scientists at the University of Oxford, including Peter Donnelly (formerly Director of the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics) and Gil McVean (Director of the Big Data Institute). The focus of the company is to use genetics to fundamentally improve our understanding of human biology, revealing ?the human wiring diagram? in the process. We are bringing together massive data sets (linking human genetic data to health and other outcomes) and developing sophisticated analytical methods for their interpretation.
We have already built the largest and best curated data resource of its kind in the world (comprising more than 7,000 traits and diseases and millions of participants). We have also developed breakthrough machine learning algorithms that use data at scale to learn directly about human biology.
We are backed by some of the leading investors in life sciences - including two leading US investors - and, in August 2018, closed an over-subscribed £25 million financing round (Series B) which was led by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. We also announced a multi-year collaboration with Vertex to use human genetics and data science to advance discovery of precision medicines.
Genomics plc has an expert cross-disciplinary team of over 60 people, primarily scientists and software engineers, with offices in Oxford and Cambridge.