ENHANC3D GENOMICS Awarded QuickFire Challenge Grant

ENHANC3D GENOMICS Awarded QuickFire Challenge Grant

• Awarded grant funding from Johnson & Johnson Innovation and one year of JLABS residency
• Functional genomics technology focused on the uncharted non-coding regions across the whole human genome
• Identification of 3D genetic interactions that are disease-associated to revolutionise target and biomarker identification
• Unique GenLink3D^TM platform opens new opportunities for multiOMICs data integration in patient samples

Cambridge, UK – 26 May 2022: ENHANC3D GENOMICS (“Enhanc3D”), a biotechnology company unlocking the full potential of the human 3D genome to accelerate patient-centric medicine, announces it has been selected as one of the awardees under Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s Immunology Innovations QuickFire Challenge. The Challenge called for innovative companies with transformative potential solutions aiming to advance precision medicine approaches in immune-mediated disease. Enhanc3D will receive grant funding, one year of residency at Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS, and mentorship from experts at the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.

Founded in 2020, Enhanc3D was spun out of Professor Peter Fraser’s pioneering 3D genome organisation research laboratory at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, UK. Enhanc3D’s mission is to unlock the full potential of the human genome’s 3D organisation for target and biomarker discovery. Current identification methods are limited to linear genome sequences and therefore are unable to capture the complexity of 3D genomic interactions which underpin cell states in health and disease.  Enhanc3D’s proprietary disruptive technology focuses on the uncharted non-coding regions that make up 98% of the human genome to identify 3D genetic interactions that are causal for disease susceptibility and progression.

Debora Lucarelli, Chief Executive Officer of Enhanc3D Genomics, commented: “Our vision is to leverage the human 3D genome and state-of-the-art analytics of our platform GenLink3D^TM to enable breakthroughs in precision medicine. Enhanc3D’s 3D genome atlas of different immune and neuronal cell types has the potential to transform target, pathway and patient signature identification. We are thrilled to be recognized among the Awardees and look forward to expanding our human 3D genome atlas within the network of world-leading scientists, clinicians and selected strategic partners.”

Enhanc3D closed a seed round in 2021 backed by Bioqube Ventures, StartCodon and two private investors.

Debbie Dumont, Managing Partner at Bioqube Ventures, said: “At Bioqube Ventures, we invest in exciting science that can be advanced into breakthrough therapies. We invested in Enhanc3D with a strong belief that GenLink3D^TM will revolutionise patient centric medicine as a first-in-class 3D genomics navigator. Enhanc3D has matured from our Create Model into a portfolio company and is now attracting additional financing to launch the GenLink3D^TM platform in immune mediated and neurodegenerative diseases.”

The GenLink3D^TM platform enables unique high-resolution mapping of DNA interactions in 3D space and advanced computational capabilities that integrate other multiOMIC datasets to produce a functional atlas of healthy and disease-specific genetic signatures. These previously uncharted interactions and AI driven functional genomic insight enables identification of novel pathways, drug targets and biomarkers furthering precision medicine. Enhanc3D’s Founding Team has published their findings in over 40 peer-reviewed articles in internationally leading scientific journals.