Startups, BioPharma

Illumina’s accelerator invests in four new genomics startups

Illumina will provide business guidance, $100,000 in seed funding, lab space and access to its genomics tools to the four new startups in its new accelerator class.

The Illumina Accelerator just invested in four new startups as part of its third funding cycle. The gene sequencing giant will provide seed funding of $100,000, business guidance, lab space in the Bay Area and access to Illumina’s next-gen machinery and reagents.

Illumina’s accelerator is meant to propel genomics-related startups forward in six month increments. Applications to participate in the next round of startups are due March 1, 2016.

The companies for this cycle are:

VitageneBrings precision medicine to the vitamin and nutrition industry. Vitagene has an algorithm that provides a personalized supplement regimen, using data from a patient’s lifestyle, blood panel and genetics.

Skinomics: A skin microbiome startup formed at UCLA – using genomics information from the cutaneous microbiome to develop therapies for acne and other skin conditions.

NextGen JaneA Harvard University spinout that educates women about their bodies by using genomics. It tracks biomarkers predictive of disease – such as sexually transmitted infection – informing women particularly of asymptomatic conditions that could impact their reproductive health.

MetaMixisA synthetic biology startup spun out of the University of British Columbia. Its platform rapidly discovers enzymes and pathways, so as to engineer cells that can produce a wide range of bio-based materials and chemicals.

[Image courtesy of Flickr user Science Museum]

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