Human Longevity Inc. (Opens in a new window), the San Diego startup centered on unraveling the genomic underpinnings of aging, just closed out a stunning $220 million Series B. The funding will be used to build out Health Nucleus (Opens in a new window), HLI’s clinical research center, and expand its database of whole genome, phenotype and clinical data.
Human Longevity was launched by genomics pioneer J. Craig Venter in 2014 with $80 million. Since, it has pooled the genomic and phenotypic data of more than 20,000 people – with an aim to hit one million genomes sequenced (Opens in a new window) by 2018. Venter spoke of HLI’s movements, as they relate to the J. Craig Venter Institute (Opens in a new window), since its launch in a recent interview with Genetic Engineering News (Opens in a new window):
At HLI, which is also a spin-out of JCVI, we are now scaling up genome analysis to a new level. We are currently sequencing about 3,000 whole genomes a month, with the goal of increasing to more than 10,000 a month. The company has only been in existence 19 months, but we now have more than 20,000 full genomes in our database, all with phenotype or clinical data linked to them. This gives us a very different view of the human genome and a whole new ability to interpret that information.
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Along with the Health Nucleus program, the new funding will go towards HLI’s Comprehensive Cancer Program, which sequences a patient’s whole genome and circulating tumor DNA, with aims to find the right pharmacogenomic treatment plan.
Investors in this new round include Illumina, Celgene, GE Ventures, and several of the Series A investors.
“The closing of our Series B offering was completed with excellent results for HLI, despite especially challenging financial markets,” Venter said in a statement. Indeed, the biotech public and equity markets have been rocky in recent months, which underscores the magnitude of this particular round.