Regeneron and Illumina back Truveta’s ambitious genetic database project

USA – Regeneron and Illumina have partnered in a significant investment to support Truveta, a health data specialist focused on creating a revolutionary genome project.

The collaboration, which includes 17 U.S. health systems, involves a combined investment of US $320 million, with Regeneron contributing the majority of nearly US $120 million and Illumina providing US $20 million for Truveta’s Series C funding.

This investment will fuel the development of the Truveta Genome Project, which aims to build the largest and most diverse database of genetic and health information.

Truveta’s platform, which gathers anonymized patient data from over 120 million individuals across more than 30 clinical care sites, will be used to support this groundbreaking initiative.

The data, which is updated daily, includes electronic medical record information and will be paired with genetic data to create a comprehensive resource for medical research.

 Regeneron’s Genetics Center will leverage leftover biospecimens from routine lab tests to sequence up to 10 million exomes, which are parts of the genome that code for proteins.

This sequencing effort aims to accelerate drug discovery and improve patient care by providing more in-depth genomic insights.

Following the initial sequencing, the biospecimens will be preserved for future multi-omics studies.

Truveta, along with its partners, will utilize this data to enhance drug discovery, improve clinical trials, and develop artificial intelligence models for better healthcare outcomes.

With this infusion of capital, Truveta’s valuation has exceeded US $1 billion, solidifying its position as a rising startup in the Seattle region.

Truveta was founded in 2020 with the goal of linking medical records to treatments and outcomes.

Its platform aggregates de-identified patient data from multiple health systems, including prominent participants like Advocate Health, CommonSpirit Health, and Providence.

The company’s new genome project aims to build a dataset that is more than ten times larger than previous initiatives, such as the NIH’s All of Us program and the UK Biobank.

This will provide unprecedented insights into the relationship between genetics and health, potentially transforming drug discovery and clinical care.

Regeneron’s involvement in the Truveta Genome Project, particularly through its Genetics Center, will allow for exclusive sequencing rights of the biospecimens.

The collaboration also aims to create new approaches for healthcare delivery and population health management.

Regeneron’s chief scientific officer, George Yancopoulos said, “By combining Regeneron’s expertise in genetics and drug development with Truveta’s extensive phenotypic data and collaboration of leading US health systems, we hope to create the ‘big data’ that will empower the next generation of drug discovery, as well as enable new approaches to healthcare analytics and healthcare management.”

Additionally, Truveta has developed an AI model to extract valuable data from medical texts, enhancing its platform’s ability to analyze patient diagnoses, medications, and lab results.