Advances in DNA sequencing and the vast amounts of genomic data generated by next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology are driving a startup to build software to help biologists more easily analyze this big data and take the next leap forward. created an opportunity. This could be useful in the development of new vaccines and cancer treatments.
For the past four years, MiLaboratories, a San Francisco-based startup with research and development facilities in Bilbao, Spain, has been building a computational biology platform to make it easier for biologists to process, analyze, and aggregate data. Built-in features such as data visualization and generative AI improve usability.
Its platform is also designed as a marketplace for other scientists, allowing them to distribute more specialized computational tools in the form of apps to continue expanding their usefulness to the genomics research community. MiLaboratories targets scientists with skill sets spanning biology, computer science, and mathematics, known as bioinformaticians.
“This is a 'no-code' style approach for biologists, and we also [open source] “SDKs (software development kits) enable bioinformaticians to build real-world applications,” CEO Stan Poslavsky told TechCrunch.
“In my and our founders' careers as scientists, we have seen huge inefficiencies… in how modern treatments and modern medicines are developed,” he said. Let me explain. “Because there is friction between the data, the big data and sequencing data that is generated by biologists, and the data analysis that is not available to them.”
Although there are “thousands” of software programs and tools that can perform analysis of NGS data, most were developed in academia, which tends to focus on practicality rather than ease of use. He says there is.
Biologists also need to aggregate and integrate the results of multiple analyses, he says. “With a unified picture, you'll be able to understand what's going on, and that's where our platform can help dramatically,” he suggests.
The company says its platform frees bioinformaticians from the tedious tasks of processing genomic data, and allows interdisciplinary scientists to apply their skillsets to the more complex task of building algorithms that can help advance cutting-edge science. I hope that it can be applied.
“Bioinformaticians actually spend a lot of their time just acting like monkeys running software for biologists,” Poslavsky says. “Processing this data requires having a Linux machine, going over SSH, and running complex software tools to complete the analysis and derive insights from the data.”
“[A doctor] I don't have the skills to do this on Linux or HPC [high performance computing] Craster, because he has other things to do. And that's what most bioinformaticians in industry and academia do, and it's really just a monthly job of running tools. ”
MiLaboratories founding team, Stan Poslawski is second from left Image credit: MiLaboratories
On Thursday, MiLaboratories officially released Platforma.bio, an SDK that allows third-party developers to contribute apps, but it has been in alpha and beta testing for several years. (So far, Poslavsky says, “about 300 labs” are using the beta version, and “about 20” apps are available through the platform.)
“The first applications available on the platform are built around our very popular biological and bioinformatics applications… [with] Companies and people involved in the development of immunotherapy. But we already have . . . “We have great collaboration and people from both academia and industry who are eager to bring their applications to the platform,” he added.
The startup, founded in 2021, has also announced a $10 million Series A funding round to continue development, with a focus on investing in community building.
“The main reason for raising funding is to put more hands into the development of our platform. We are recruiting more engineers. Most bioinformatics software is developed in academia, so we employs so-called developer advocates, who primarily promote technology in academia.
“For next year [we will] “We will focus on disseminating the technology across the community and engaging the community to build apps, wrap existing software, and distribute it through the platform,” he added.
MiLaboratories’ Series A was led by Madrid-based Kfund, with participation from Acrobator Ventures, EGB Capital, Courtyard Ventures, Somersault Ventures, Speedinvest, and Ten13.
Miguel Arias, general partner of Kfund, commented in a statement: In our fund. There is great potential in democratizing access to complex data that enables the delivery of immunological insights. ”
MiLaboratories provides its software for free to academics, but also makes money through a paid model for commercial users. Poslavsky says the startup is now approaching 100 paying customers.
“Many of the big pharmaceutical companies, like Moderna and Bristol-Myers Squibb, are our customers,” he said, adding, “We have enough revenue that we don't have to rely as much on venture capital. “I am,” he added.
In early 2022, the startup raised $2.5 million in a seed round. We also previously accepted small pre-seeds from several angels.
Discussing the challenges of developing computational biology platforms, Poslavsky said that the vast amounts of data generated by NGS are forcing startups to be very careful to ensure processing efficiency to avoid incurring “ridiculous costs.” He said he needed to pay.
“The amount of data generated in space is actually insane,” he emphasizes. “Big pharmaceutical companies, our customers…they have petabytes of genetic data that they've ever generated. So it's a huge scale.”
MiLaboratories is what Poslavsky claims is a “highly sophisticated” and “mathematically proven” technology that allows many types of calculations to be performed in a “highly optimized manner.” has been developed. He suggests that the company's patented technology enables the platform to be 10 times more efficient compared to other types of computational workflows.
“That's very important because it's hidden from biologists' eyes, but the valuable proposition for biologists is 'click a button and get an insight.' But it's very important for business owners. ”
In terms of competition, Poslavsky cites Seqera (and its Nextflow software) as its closest rival in terms of popularity and value proposition. While there are open source tools for NGS processing, such as Galaxy, MiLaboratories believes its platform provides researchers with a more accessible route to data insights.