Digital health startup Coimbra Genomics raises 2.4 million euros from impact investor Green Innovations.
Green Innovations joins Portugal Ventures and Critical Ventures as main shareholders of the company.
Bruno Soares
“This is one more step in our commercial development path, with the ultimate objective of turning ELSIE into the world leading platform that carries reliable genomic information to the physician, whenever it can improve the quality of healthcare,” said Coimbra Genomics CEO Bruno Soares.
This investment will enable Coimbra Genomics, which aims to bring individualized medicine to the desktop of every doctor, to accelerate the expansion of its digital platform, ELSIE, to international markets.
ELSIE is a software tool supporting clinical decisions based on full sequencing of the genome from patients that brings genomic medicine to modern healthcare.
For physicians, ELSIE works by letting you ask specific questions – called Genome Queries – during a regular medical appointment, which will lead to a response based on your patient’s individual genetic information.
According to the Huffington Post, “Functional genomics data is valuable as it helps to record the range of activities of each piece of the genome.”
According to a study from the University of Alberta, “Over the past few decades, there has been a proliferation of biobanks — both large and small — that link tissue and genetic information to a host of other forms of health and personal data. Indeed, biobanking and related research methods have been characterized as an essential and potentially ‘revolutionizing’ approach to biomedical research.”
The paper also warns that in biobanking, “there has been a great deal of controversy. Much of the conflict has centred on issues of consent and the control of tissue samples.”
However, in the case of Coimbra Genomics’ ELSIE, “Once a Genome Query is ordered, the genomic data of your patient will be accessed, organised and translated into clinically relevant information, following a strict policy for data privacy and storage.”
Celso Guedes de Carvalho
“We continue to see an enormous lack of investors in the Life Sciences area taking into account the Portuguese ecosystem,” said Celso Guedes de Carvalho, CEO of Portugal Ventures.
“The entry of Green Innovations in the market is very welcome and the investment announced for our shareholding Coimbra Genomics will allow the company to guarantee additional funds to reinforce the commercial activity, consolidate the internationalisation process and disseminate the regular usage of genomic information in clinical practice.”
Coimbra Genomics develops tools that bridge genomic knowledge and medical practice, making it easy for any physician to make important decisions adapted to each patient’s genetic makeup.
Carlos Faro
The new chairman of the company, Professor Carlos Faro, believes Coimbra Genomics offers something unique.
“With this investment, we expect to fulfil our potential and increase the brand strength through the global commercial expansion of the business. This will be our primary strategic and operational focus in 2018.”