Genetics Squared's $1m funding

Genetics Squared, from Ann Arbor, MI, US, a three-year-old biotech firm that uses computers and proprietary technology to advance clinical development of new therapies, has secured a $1m investment from a regional venture capital firm and a private investor.

The funding was made by CrystalPoint Partners, an Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm, and a private investor from out of state. 'Genetics Squared has a great deal of promise and its customers are excited about its ability to increase the speed at which new drugs are developed,' said CrystalPoint's managing director Wassim Mortada.

'Genetics Squared technology is focused on a significant challenge in product development,' explained John Freshley, the firm's newly named president and chief executive officer. 'Drugs often fail because only a subset of the patient population benefits from the new drug and there is no way to predict which patients will respond. Genetics Squared has demonstrated that it can attack that problem with its unique and patented analysis approach.'

Freshley said the funding will be used to recruit management and new staff, invest in additional technology infrastructure and develop a sales operation for the company.

The technology developed by Genetics Squared enables it to predict drug response based on specific characteristics of individual patients, such as genetic makeup or certain protein activity. This could assist doctors in prescribing the right therapy for patients allowing them to avoid therapies predicted to have a negative response and choose therapies likely to benefit the patient.