London-based biotech startup, Sable Bio, has successfully raised £1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round aimed at advancing its cutting-edge drug safety testing technology.
London-based biotech startup, Sable Bio, has successfully raised £1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round aimed at advancing its cutting-edge drug safety testing technology.
Established in 2023, Sable Bio utilizes the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to meticulously analyze vast sets of biomedical data, facilitating the assessment of potential medicines for toxicity. With this recent injection of capital, the company is poised to bolster its core technological infrastructure, paving the way for transformative advancements in drug safety assessment.
Co-founder of Sable Bio, Josh Almond-Thynne, expressed enthusiasm about the funding round, stating, “This investment will help Sable Bio redefine drug safety assessment and change the ways actionable biomedical insights are generated.” The funding was spearheaded by Episode 1 Ventures, with significant participation from Seedcamp, underlining the industry’s confidence in Sable Bio’s pioneering approach.
Adam Shuaib, a partner at Episode 1 Ventures, emphasized the groundbreaking potential of large language models (LLMs) in reshaping drug development processes.
“The advent of LLMs is a monumental technological shift that will help Sable Bio unlock swathes of data previously inaccessible within the scientific literature,” Shuaib stated. Leveraging this technology, Sable Bio aims to expedite the identification of actionable insights while minimizing time-to-market and reducing the costs associated with clinical trials.
Echoing Shuaib’s sentiments, Tom Wilson, a partner at Seedcamp, highlighted the urgent need for innovation in drug development, particularly in addressing the time-consuming nature of toxicity assessments.
“Taking drugs to market from discovery to development and beyond takes far too long, and toxicity is a major factor adding delays or causing such processes to fail entirely,” Wilson remarked. Sable Bio’s solution, he added, lies in providing timely access to comprehensive data, enabled by LLMs, thereby revolutionizing traditional approaches to toxicity assessment.
With the successful conclusion of the funding round, Sable Bio is now poised to forge strategic partnerships with biotech and pharmaceutical companies, as well as academic institutions. By collaborating with industry leaders and academic experts, the company aims to further enhance its technological capabilities and expand its reach within the biomedical research community.
Furthermore, Sable Bio plans to embark on a recruitment drive to augment its team with top-tier talent across various disciplines. By attracting skilled professionals passionate about driving innovation in drug development, the company seeks to accelerate its mission of transforming drug safety assessment methodologies.
In a rapidly evolving landscape where the demand for safer and more efficient medicines continues to escalate, Sable Bio stands at the forefront of pioneering advancements. Armed with cutting-edge AI technology and bolstered by strategic partnerships, the company is poised to redefine the future of drug safety testing, ushering in a new era of accelerated drug development and enhanced patient care.