Health Tech, Startups

AllStripes raises $50 million to support rare disease research

The startup, which is focused on letting patients share their health records for rare disease research, plans to use the funds to launch 100 rare disease programs. 

By Elise Reuter - Medcity News on August 24, 2021

A startup that lets patients share their health records for rare disease research plans to expand its programs with an influx of funding.

San Francisco-based AllStripes recently closed a $50 million series B round, led by Lux Capital. It plans to use the capital to launch 100 rare disease research programs, build on its technology and expand its operations to more countries.

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AllStripes was founded in 2017 by CEO Nancy Yu, who previously led corporate development for 23andMe, and Onno Faber, a developer who had been diagnosed with a rare disease. Their goal was to help biopharma companies learn more about these rare conditions so they can design better clinical trials.

Patients have the ability to store their records in AllStripes’ platform, including deciding specifically what records they want to share. For example, a patient could choose not to include genetic information or information related to the treatment of a mental health condition. They also can choose who they want to share that information with, such as a new doctor, and can download their records at any time.

To contribute to research, patients must consent first. AllStripes only shares de-identified data with users’ permission. Users are also able to withdraw their consent and be removed from the platform at any time, Yu wrote in an email.

Lux Capital had led a seed round in the startup shortly after its founding. Some of Allstripes’ other backers include McKesson Ventures, JAZZ Venture Partners, and Komodo Health CEO Arif Nathoo.

So far, the company has worked with 3,000 users. Its partners include 30 patient advocacy organizations, as well as biopharma companies and research facilities. Some of them include Novartis Pharma, the University of Pennsylvania’s Orphan Disease Center, and HemoShear Therapeutics, a company developing treatments for patients with rare metabolic disorders

For example, AllStripes has been working with rare disease foundations to support research of lysosomal storage diseases, a group of inherited conditions where an enzyme deficiency inhibits the ability of lysosomes in each cell to break down large molecules into small molecules. The company recruited three cohorts of patients for Sanfilippo syndrome, Niemann-Pick disease type C, and GM1 gangliosidosis.

For each cohort, they identified different symptoms to better characterize these diseases, understand the patient’s journey, and identify endpoints that could be included in trials.

“This work is serving as the jumping off point for deeper research studies within each of these cohorts,” Yu wrote in an email.

Earlier this year, AllStripes expanded its research programs to the U.K. It looks to further expand its footprint with the new funding.

“Beginning research on a rare condition can feel like being dropped into a new world without a map and we are on a mission to change that with data,” Yu said in a news release.

Photo credit: Dominique-Grosse, Getty Images