New Investment Opportunity: Sequentify
DNA sequencing as fast and affordable as a blood test
- Reduces time and cost of next-gen targeted DNA sequencing by 10X for rapidly growing personalized medicine market; aims to be as fast and affordable as a blood test
- Emerging from stealth; company reports 600% YOY revenue increase forecast in 2022, further 160% increase in 2023; $7M+ pipeline of signed purchase orders with 8 customers subject to verification and other milestones
- Company reports 70% profit margin on Covid-19, pregnancy screening, oncology panels
- Strong team ex-Jungo, Cisco, Weizmann Institute of Science
- Fast-growing sector: SOPHiA Genetics $234M IPO, Immunai $215M Series C, Grail acquired for $8B, ArcherDX acquired for $1.4B
Dear Josb,
Healthcare is being transformed by personalized or precision medicine, using genetic information to customize medical treatments based on an individual's predicted response to treatment or risk of disease. One of the factors holding back faster adoption of personalized medicine is the high cost of DNA sequencing.
OurCrowd is reinvesting in Sequentify, an Israeli startup that wants to make DNA sequencing as common, fast, and affordable as a blood test. The details in this email are based on information received from, and verified solely by, the company.
Next-Generation Sequencing
Next generation DNA sequencing (NGS) is revolutionizing genetic analysis and enabling new applications in genomic and clinical research, reproductive health, and environmental, agricultural, and forensic science.
There are five major steps in NGS: template extraction, library prep, sequencing, secondary analysis (bioinformatics), and tertiary analysis.
The Solution
The most expensive and time-consuming step is the library prep, where the target region is picked and coded. Sequentify has developed a way to perform the library prep at 10% or less than the cost of competing solutions, and in substantially less lab time – 3.5 hours instead of days. Sequentify is also developing secondary analysis bioinformatics tools.
Sequentify's easily automated, IP-protected technology enables laboratories, hospitals and HMOs to implement NGS in their own labs, rather than outsource it to third parties. This allows institutions to reduce costs, save time, and maintain full control over valuable genomic data.
The Company
Sequentify is now emerging from stealth mode. The company forecasts 600% YOY revenue increase in 2022, with a further 160% increase in 2023. Sequentify reports it has a $7M+ pipeline of signed purchase orders with 8 customers, subject to meeting verification and other milestones. The company states it enjoys a 70% profit margin on Covid-19, pregnancy screening and oncology panels.
The Team
Sequentify has a strong team led by co-founder and CEO Ophir Herbst, who founded and led Cisco spin-off Jungo Connectivity to its IPO. The team's two scientific co-founders, Tamir Biezuner and Tom Fleischer, are both PhDs and first developed the technology during their research at the Weizmann institute.
Hot Sector
There is a great deal of current interest in genetic sequencing. SOPHiA Genetics raised $234M in an IPO, Immunai raised $215M in a Series C round, C2i raised $100M, Grail was acquired for $8B, and ArcherDX was acquired for $1.4B.
The Round
This $5M SAFE is led by OurCrowd. Funds will be used to grow the team, develop more kits, deliver PoCs to current customers, submit additional IP protection, grow operations, and seek regulatory approvals.
Meet the CEO
We're hosting a webinar/conference call on Tuesday, February 15th, at 7PM Israel / 12PM New York / 9AM San Francisco for investors to meet CEO Ophir Herbst and learn more about Sequentify.
Can't make the webinar? Register and we will send you a recording of the call.
The Sequentify Solution
Targeted sequencing has five major steps: template extraction, library prep, sequencing, secondary analysis, and tertiary analysis. Sequentify's InfiniSeq technology is focused on the library prep and secondary analysis stages.
There are a number of subprocesses within the library prep stage, which prepares the samples for sequencing. InfiniSeq is a one-pot, highly automated process that achieves similar uniformity and specificity levels to competing solutions at a fast speed. InifiniSeq can reduce the time and costs to 10% of competitors'. It supports full automation which is needed to support mass markets, and makes it possible to quickly develop new panels, opening new markets and new customers.
Next steps:
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