Alban de La Sablière, global head of partnering at Sanofi for the past six years, has joined artificial intelligence biotech Owkin as its first chief business officer. In addition to finding more business partnerships, de La Sablière will also oversee expansion of Owkin’s internal drug and diagnostics pipeline.
The breast cancer solution will help determine which patients would benefit from targeted therapies and which patients could avoid chemotherapy. Meanwhile, the colorectal solution will be able to match patients with the most effective treatment sooner.
As technology advances, AI-powered tools will increasingly reduce the administrative burdens on healthcare providers.
The sum represents Sanofi’s equity investment in Owkin, plus a payment to begin a research partnership covering four types of cancer. Meanwhile, Owkin said the Sanofi investment boosts the startup into unicorn status and marks the start of its Series B funding round.
Owkin, a startup building a decentralized health research platform, rounded out its series A round with another $18 million in funding. It uses federated learning to allow researchers to collaborate on AI models while keeping data onsite.
GRAIL, a startup developing cancer liquid biopsy tests, raised a $390 million series D round. Read more about which companies raised funding this week.
The goal of the OWKIN Loop Network, which includes hospitals and research institutions in the United States and Europe, is to advance knowledge sharing in the medical research field.
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.