AI Company Verge Genomics Snags $32 Million in Series A Funding

Verge Genomics, a drug discovery company that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop new therapeutics, secured $32 million in a Series A financing round to accelerate its drug discovery programs.

The funding round is a significant one for Verge. The Series A, which was supported by investors DFJ, WuXi AppTec’s Corporate Venture Fund, ALS Investment Fund, Agent Capital, and OS Fund, provided the company with the bulk of its finances. The addition of the $32 million now gives the company $36 million to fund its programs, the company said.

Verge is focusing its research on neurological treatments. The company is developing therapeutics for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease. Since it launched in 2015, Verge said it has developed partnerships with two pharmaceutical companies and has invested heavily in the creation if its proprietary datasets. Those data sets, Verge said, are among the most comprehensive patient genomic information lists for those with ALS and Parkinson’s. The list was comprised through a partnership with “a dozen top-tier academic and government organizations,” the company said.

In May, Verge initiated a program to sequence genes expressed in the brains of Parkinson's patients at a single cell resolution, generating the first dataset of its kind in the field. Verge launched the initiative in partnership with the University of California San Diego and VIB, the life sciences research institute based in Flanders, Belgium.

“By vertically integrating machine learning and drug development capabilities under one roof, we have been able to quickly identify dozens of promising new therapeutic opportunities for devastating diseases such as ALS and Parkinson’s disease,” Alice Zhang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Verge Genomics said.

Regarding the Series A funding, Zhang said the small company wanted its investors to “reflect the same interdisciplinary mindset” that its 13 employees maintain. Zhang added the company is excited to have brought together investors from both the tech world and the biotech world to support its efforts.

“This funding will allow us to advance our most promising drug candidates towards the clinic while continuing to expand our proprietary datasets and therapeutic portfolio,” Zhang added.

Emily Melton, a partner at DFJ who now joins the Verge Genomics Board of Directors, said the increase in data volumes combined with machine learning has the potential to transform drug discovery and development.

“We were compelled by the high-caliber and multidisciplinary team at Verge Genomics and their vision to leverage the convergence of technological and neurobiological advances to discover new therapies for these complex diseases,” Melton said in a statement.

Edward Hu, WuXi’s chief financial officer and chief investment officer, said Verge’s integrated approach to drug development “aligns patient data with animal models to ensure the use of appropriate translational research.”