GeneAdviser raises £350,000 in first round of seed funding.
GeneAdviser, an online ordering platform for clinical genetic testing, has raised £350,000 in its first round of seed funding. The venture has been supported by Cambridge Judge Business School through the Accelerate Cambridge programme, part of the School’s Entrepreneurship Centre, and Cambridge Social Ventures, part of the Centre for Social Innovation.
The £350,000 seed round was led by Abcam founder and life science investor Dr Jonathan Milner, who now joins the GeneAdviser board of directors as company chair. “GeneAdviser fills a great need for accessible genetic testing and will significantly impact the lives of patients with rare disease, cancer and neurological conditions,” says Dr Milner.
Formed by a team of Cambridge scientists and geneticists, GeneAdviser provides an independent platform for clinicians to quickly compare and order specialist genetics services, advancing the uptake of genomic medicine into the healthcare market.
GeneAdviser is already being used to order specialist genetic tests from the NHS Regional Genetics Centre at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. GeneAdviser’s CEO, Dr Jelena Aleksic says: “This funding will allow GeneAdviser to expand the ordering platform into a broader marketplace, making it easier for clinicians worldwide to select and order genetics services.”
Dr Aleksic, also an alumnus of the School’s EnterpriseWISE programme, was voted Woman Entrepreneur of the Year by Business Weekly and she will receive her award at the Women’s Leadership Initiative Conference: Growing Together at Cambridge Judge on 17 June 2016.