Nvidia, Amgen back AI-driven drug firm Generate:Biomedicines' $273 mln fundraise

Horizon Therapeutics

14/09/2023 13:33

Sept 14 (Reuters) - Drug developer
Generate:Biomedicines, which uses artificial intelligence (AI)
to find new treatments, said on Thursday it has raised $273
million from investors including Nvidia's  NVDA.O  venture
capital arm and Amgen  AMGN.O .
    The company said it would use the Series C funding to
support its pipeline of drugs for various disease areas such as
cancer, infectious diseases and immunological conditions.
    Generate — founded by venture firm Flagship Pioneering,
which has incubated biotech companies, most famously Moderna Inc
 MRNA.O  — uses AI to replace trial-and-error drug discovery
methods and create novel protein-based therapeutics.
    Generate is testing a monoclonal antibody therapy for
COVID-19, its first therapy to reach human testing.
    "The company has made significant advancements over the last
five years, and I am confident this funding will enable us to
realize a future where drug development is no longer a game of
chance," Flagship's CEO Noubar Afeyan said in a statement.
    Generate said the latest funding round would help the
company increase the precision, speed and probability of success
of its drug development.
    The Series C round attracted some new investors such as MAPS
Capital and Pictet Alternative Advisors, besides existing
investors including Flagship and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
    Generate did not immediately respond to Reuters request for
a comment on its valuation.
    The AI-driven drug developer has raised about $700 million
in equity financing since 2020.        
    
    

 (Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi
Majumdar)
 ((Christy.Santhosh@thomsonreuters.com;))