Dublin-based Meta-Flux, which uses AI to model disease biology and guide preclinical drug decisions, has raised €1.8 million in a seed funding round backed by senior executives from Pfizer, Merck, and Gilead Sciences, as well as technology leaders from Google, Amazon, and Indeed, as Vestbee was informed.
- Launched in 2023 by Lee Sherlock and Brendan Martin, Meta-Flux develops an AI-driven platform that models disease biology to improve preclinical drug development.
- The system processes more than 20 trillion disease-relevant data points, delivers up to 10× faster data harmonization, and achieves 5× quicker hypothesis-to-insight turnaround, reducing overall discovery timelines by an estimated 20–30%, according to the company.
- Acting as an “AI biologist,” the platform integrates genetic, proteomic, and metabolic data to simulate biological systems and predict how potential drugs will behave.
- Using multi-omic simulations and dynamic knowledge graphs, Meta-Flux helps researchers identify viable targets, validate mechanisms of action, and make faster, evidence-based go/no-go decisions before entering costly clinical stages.
“The key for big pharma is identifying valuable AI partners in an increasingly crowded space, those who marry deep biological insight with advanced modeling to address focused, high-impact questions. Meta-Flux exemplifies this biology-first approach, zeroing in on niche scientific challenges that unlock outsized commercial value and turning AI’s promise into tangible breakthroughs," a senior director in R&D at Gilead Sciences, also an investor in Meta-Flux, explains.
- With the fresh capital, the firm aims to scale its AI platform for preclinical drug development, expand its team, and strengthen partnerships with pharmaceutical companies in Europe and the US.
