Tagomics, the developer of a cutting-edge platform for comprehensive disease insight and diagnosis, has raised £6.7m in a funding round led by Calculus Capital and including Mercia Ventures, the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), Illumina Ventures, IQ Capital, Agilent Ventures, Meltwind and OMX Ventures.
The investment will accelerate Tagomics’ research and development, with the goal of delivering improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases.
Tagomics’ pioneering platform seamlessly combines ‘omics’ technologies, including genomics (detecting mutations), epigenomics (studying chemical ‘switches’ on the genome), and fragmentomics (the analysis of DNA fragmentation patterns in the blood).
By integrating these methods and applying advanced data analysis and machine learning, the platform can provide a 360° understanding of human health and disease. It aims to discover new markers of cancer and develop strategic partnerships, advancing drug development and therapy selection for patients.
Tagomics launched in July 2020 as a spin-out from the University of Birmingham, to build upon research led by Dr Robert Neely, the company’s Chief Scientific Officer. Based in Coventry, the company also has laboratory space in the new Illumina Ventures’ Labs space in Cambridge. The latest investment follows a £1.6m pre-seed round led by IQ Capital and Start Codon and including grant funding from Innovate UK.
Dr. Jack Kennefick, CEO and co-founder at Tagomics, said: “The multiomic capabilities of Tagomics’ approach enable more comprehensive insight into diseases such as cancer; these insights will enable us to develop simpler and more accurate means of diagnosing and treating patients. We’re pleased to welcome such an experienced group of investors on board to help us accelerate the development of our platform and support our efforts in expanding the capabilities of genomic medicine.”
Elizabeth Klein, Investment Director at Calculus, said: “We are delighted to support Tagomics as the company embarks on its next phase of expansion, applying its innovative technology to discover new markers for disease diagnosis and management. We were attracted to the company not only for its novel science, but its exceptional management team.”
The current MEIF investment phase has now completed with the British Business Bank launching the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II at the end of this month (February 2024).
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.