The MedTech startup iLoF is being noticed by investors for its impressive innovation.
The development of AI technologies has had a revolutionary effect on the MedTech world. MedTech refers to any product or service that utilises technology to treat, diagnose or prevent disease. The promise of streamlined research and faster innovation is becoming more tangible as competition grows in the MedTech start-up sector. Venture capitalists are starting to look to this industry as well. Medtech Europe, a trade association of medical device companies, estimates that the European MedTech sector was worth about €140 Billion in 2020. One of the burgeoning areas of MedTech is the personalised medicine market. Large amounts of data on genetic markers in populations allow for the creation of therapeutics that are customised to individual patients’ needs.
The Oxford based company iLof (Intelligent Lab on Fibre) promises to help bring about the personalised medicine revolution. The company is based on the philosophy that all diseases are different – so are the people, so why are the medicines the same? According to iLof all too often complex diseases are treated as if they are a single entity. iLof seeks to remedy this by creating a database of blood samples to identify unique genetic markers. These markers can be used by researchers to better understand any genetic predisposition to disease as well as the compatibility of treatments.
iLof’s screening procedure is non-invasive and rapid. The company has developed an optical based system that identifies “biological nano-structures” in the blood to create a unique patient fingerprint that can be matched with others stored on the database. They have been focusing on compiling information on Alzheimer’s patients. This disease in particular is proving extremely difficult to find treatments for. To date no drug has been brought to the market for Althzeimer’s.
Pharmaceutical companies and researchers can use the information on iLoF’s database to select participants for trails based on what subtype of disease they suffer from. This can be an extremely valuable tool as much of the selection process is cut down allowing scientists to expedite trials to faster eliminate approaches that do not work. The importance of this work is starting to be noticed by investors as well as the public sector. iLoF was listed in CB Insights’ list of the top 150 global digital health startups and has secured funding of $1 million from Microsoft’s venture fund M12.
Genomic disease databases such as these are already having effects in the public sector. NHS England has already started to prepare for the widespread use of personalised medicines. They have set up a genomic medicines service in partnership with academia and industries to find treatments for rare diseases and cancers. It will also help doctors make a diagnosis quicker and more accurately. Public sector medicine providers like the NHS stand to gain enormously from these breakthroughs as better patient outcomes are combined with lower costs.