Backed by Nvidia and Pfizer, Israeli AI medical startup raises $80m in fresh capital
Tel Aviv-based CytoReason, which uses machine learning to build computational models of human diseases to speed up treatment discoveries, plans to open a US office later this year
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.
CytoReason, an Israeli startup that uses artificial intelligence to develop computational disease models for drug discovery, said Wednesday it has secured $80 million in a private funding round backed by US chipmaker Nvidia and pharma giant Pfizer.
The funding round was also joined by US medical equipment maker Thermo Fisher and Jerusalem-based venture capital platform OurCrowd.
Founded in 2016, CytoReason develops computational technology that serves as a GPS-like mechanism that navigates the immune system. The machine-learning software collects and combines data from a variety of sources, including in-house data and published research on the immune system and other clinical studies, to discover insights into the biology of diseases.
The technology then builds a digital, computational simulator of the human body that can be used to predict responses to drugs, thus providing direction as to which ones can best benefit patients.
CytoReason says the use of its massive database and AI-led platform helps pharma and biotech companies shorten trial phases and cut development costs, as well as increase the likelihood of drug approval.
“The world understands that data alone is not enough, and that the future of data-driven insights is in data modeling,” said co-founder and CEO of CytoReason David Harel.
The Tel Aviv-based startup said it will use the freshly raised capital to expand the application of its disease models into additional indications and grow its proprietary molecular and clinical data. It also has plans to establish a US hub in Cambridge, Massachusetts later this year, and hire employees. CytoReason employs more than 120 people, mostly based in Israel,
Back in 2022, Pfizer announced an equity investment of $20 million into the Israeli firm as part of a wider five-year deal worth up to $110 million to license CytoReason’s platform and disease models. The startup is also working with leading global pharmaceutical companies including, French drugmaker Sanofi, Swiss pharma firms Ferring and Roche, and the UK’s GSK.
“The rapid expansion of new technologies, like artificial intelligence, holds tremendous potential to help transform what is possible in human health,” said Pfizer chief scientific officer Mikael Dolsten. “Our collaboration with CytoReason leverages its cutting-edge immunology multiomics platform to augment Pfizer’s own R&D capabilities and generate invaluable insights into new drug development pathways for patients.”
CytoReason said that six of the world’s top 10 pharma companies use its technology to make data-driven decisions in immunology, inflammation, immuno-oncology, metabolism, and other therapeutic areas.
