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Genomics Plc Adds £8M to Series B Funding Round

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Genomics Plc said today that it has closed an £8 million ($10.1 million) extension of its Series B financing round, bringing the total value of the round to £33 million. The Oxford, UK-based genome analysis company had brought in £25 million in the first part of its Series B, which closed in August.

For the extension, new investors Foresite Capital and F-Prime Capital joined previous backers, led by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. As a result, F-Prime Managing Partner Steve Knight and Foresite CEO Jim Tananbaum have joined the board of Genomics.

The company said that it would use the proceeds to continue expansion, further develop its database and analytical engine, and to pursue unspecified "opportunities that emerge in this fast-growing space."

The Genomics analysis engine contains more than 100 billion data points, according to the firm, helping users match variation at 14 million points in the human genome to approximately 8,000 genomic, physiological, and disease outcomes.

Genomics is four months into a three-year partnership with Vertex to apply genetics and machine learning to help the pharma company identify new targets for precision medicines.

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