Backed by $18m from British entrepreneur Mike Lynch’s firm Invoke Capital, Sophia Genetics diagnoses a range of diseases such as hereditary heart conditions, cystic fibrosis or juvenile diabetes and various cancers including breast, lung and melanomas, using artificial intelligence. It applies machine learning algorithms to analyse the samples for disease-related genes within two hours. The resulting report will pick out, with almost 100pc accuracy, the specific genes that are associated with diseases - such as BRCA-1 in breast cancer - and annotate it with available information on what drugs work best for this genetic mutation, so doctors can prescribe targeted treatments that actually work. “Over the past 18 months, Sophia Genetics’ technology has been able to make precision medicine a reality for healthcare institutions across Europe, helping patients benefit from faster and more accurate diagnoses,” said chief executive Jurgi Camblong. All patient data is stored in Sophia’s own highly secure data centres in Switzerland and France, and it has developed patent-pending data encryption methods. Unlike other molecular diagnostics methods, Sophia can leverage knowledge from across its healthcare network of 100 hospitals, to start predicting treatments for new, genetically-similar patients. The system knows exactly what stage your cancer is at, and which drugs will work for you specifically, rather than just another generic patient with your type of cancer. Mike Lynch said, “This is a fabulous application of machine learning because the more data in the system, that smarter the system gets, and it will get richer as the community develops, though it is already the largest in the world.”
Using artificial intelligence to diagnose a range of diseases, Sophia Genetics, a Switzerland-based start-up and genetics testing company, has become the world's largest network for molecular diagnostics. Mike Lynch, whose firm Invoke Capital has invested $18m, said that other companies “will struggle to catch up.” Using and analysing data from 100 hospitals, the company will diagnose over 80,000 patients in 2016. This data-rich ‘precision medicine,’ results in a faster and more accurate diagnosis, which in turn will lead to a specific, tailored treatment plan.