South San Francisco-based Pragma Bio, a technology-enabled platform dedicated to drug discovery, has successfully raised $10 million in equity funding. This recent round has increased the company’s total venture backing to $15 million. The funding round was led by The Venture Collective, Viking Global Investors, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, and CJ Investments.
Pragma Bio plans to use the new funds to further develop its proprietary methods in genomic sequencing, artificial intelligence, and synthetic biology. The aim is to discover novel biomarkers and therapeutics for the treatment of immunologic disorders.
Under the leadership of CEO Kareem Barghouti, Pragma Bio is creating a comprehensive map of chemicals designed by nature, housed within humans, and linked to immune-related health outcomes. By leveraging advanced technologies in machine learning and synthetic biology, the company aims to scale intelligent discovery with iterative biomanufacturing in pursuit of enzymes and chemistries with biological signals and desirable therapeutic properties.
The company has developed a hypothesis-generating discovery engine called Lattice. This groundbreaking system archives and analyzes countless interactions and correlations between natural products and human cells that are connected to clinical outcomes. Biologically significant microbial genes are then manipulated and transferred to the lab, using technology to produce a collection of enzymes and natural chemistries.
Pragma Bio has also established partnerships with global leaders in both academia and the pharmaceutical industry. As the company continues to innovate and expand its drug discovery capabilities, it’s clear that the future of medicine will be significantly impacted by the integration of cutting-edge technology in the field.
