14M Genomics and Syncona Sign £12.5m Financing

14M Genomics (“14MG”) and Syncona Partners LLP (“Syncona”) announced a £12.5 million equity financing to develop European clinical diagnostic and treatment decision services in cancer. 14MG is partnered with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (“Sanger Institute”), which is leveraging the power of its state-of-the-art gene sequencing and cancer genome bioinformatics resources. The company will generate linked genomic and clinical datasets for major cancers, which will provide a reference base to enable diagnostic and prognostic stratification of patients, helping to guide treatment decisions for oncologists and patients.

14MG was founded by the leaders of the Sanger Institute Cancer Genome Project, Professor Michael Stratton, Dr Peter Campbell and Dr Ultan McDermott. The company, based on the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, is collaborating with European clinical partners in studies to generate linked clinical genomic datasets using cancer gene panel and other technologies. 14MG has licensed proprietary technology and bioinformatics software from the Sanger Institute and will capitalise on the Institute’s research and clinical grade sequencing pipelines. The company’s medical and bioinformatics teams are building a clinical genomic data resource with portal access appropriate for future clinical diagnostic services. Collaborations with leading academic centres are being established in haematological and solid tissue cancers, where there are strong indicators that cancer gene biology has prognostic and treatment guidance value. 14MG also intends to collaborate with pharmaceutical partners to provide clinical genomic services in the study of investigational drugs, informed by its cancer gene pathway discoveries.

Andrew Sandham, Executive Chairman of 14MG, said

“Our partnership with the Sanger Institute provides world class resources that few start-up companies could access. This, and our relationship with Syncona, is proving a valuable gateway to access large clinical studies in cancer across Europe, at the scale and quality necessary to build medically useful clinical genomic datasets.”

Professor Michael Stratton, co-founder of 14MG and Director of the Sanger Institute, added

“The Cancer Genome Project has enabled us to make important discoveries in cancer gene biology. There is a real drive to introduce genomic medicine into healthcare, and the founding of 14MG aspires to realise the clinical utility of cancer genomics through services to oncologists and patients.”

Martin Murphy, CEO of Syncona, commented

“Syncona is a healthcare investment company that identifies and develops technologies with the potential of significantly impacting the healthcare market of the future. The development and commercialisation of cancer diagnostics requires deep and long term financial commitment and Syncona has the vision and resources to support companies like 14MG that will transform the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.”