London-based Baseimmune, a biotech company using deep learning AI to forecast pathogen mutations for vaccine development, has secured $11.3M (approximately €10.40M) in a Series A round of funding.
The round was led by new investors MSD Global Health Innovation Fund and IQ Capital, with participation from existing backers such as Hoxton Ventures, Creator Fund, Beast Ventures, and Maki.vc.
Alex Wilson, Partner at IQ Capital, says, “We are excited to announce our strategic investment in Baseimmune, a cutting-edge biotech leveraging AI to innovate vaccine therapies.”
“By using a computational platform and innovative AI prediction algorithm, Baseimmune is pioneering the next generation of universal vaccines against a spectrum of human and animal health threats, from COVID to malaria and African Swine Fever.”
Capital utilisation
The funding will enable Baseimmune to accelerate the development of its three vaccine candidates currently in preclinical development for African swine fever, coronavirus, and malaria.
The company will also use the new capital to further advance its technology, expand its team, increase the number of development programmes and accelerate new vaccine programs.
Joshua Blight, CEO and co-founder of Baseimmune, says, “We’re thrilled to have the support of a top-tier investor syndicate led by MSD Global Health Innovation Fund and IQ Capital.”
“This funding will enable us to accelerate the development of our technology, scale our programs, and expedite the delivery of impactful vaccines against future pathogens.”
“We are more excited than ever about the possibilities and remain focused in our commitment to disrupting the future of pandemic readiness.”
Generating mutation-proof vaccines
Founded in 2019 by Joshua Blight and Ariane Gomes, who connected during their PhDs at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, along with software engineer Phillip Kemlo, Baseimmune employs an antigen design platform.
Their vaccine design algorithm combines genomic, epidemiological, immunological, clinical, and evolutionary data to craft entirely new synthetic antigenic proteins, strategically targeting pathogen components for a “strong” protective immune response.
Baseimmune’s technology uses a computational platform to decode pathogen evolution, expediting the design of cross-protective vaccines. Leveraging big data and a design algorithm, the process accelerates vaccine development.
The resulting antigen designs are compatible with diverse vaccine technologies, including mRNA, DNA, and viral vectors, creating universal “future-proof” vaccines effective against current and potential future variants.
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