Congenica has raised £8 million in a new funding round that will drive international expansion of its genome analysis business.

Existing investors, Cambridge Innovation Capital and Amadeus Capital Partners have put more money into the company alongside new investor, Parkwalk Advisors.

The company, based on the Wellcome Genome Campus at Hinxton, has developed the Sapientia technology platform to analyse genome-scale DNA data, producing comprehensive diagnostic reports that help clinical decision-making.

Since the launch of Sapientia in 2014, the technology has been adopted in a number of important markets with contracts across the UK, China, US and other EU countries.

It has been validated by leading independent institutes and clinicians, including Genomics England Ltd under the UK 100K Genomes Project.

Tom Weaver, CEO at Congenica, said: “Our vision is to ensure that advances in genomics bring benefits to patients.

“Our goal is to be the international leader in data solutions for rapid and accurate diagnosis of rare genetic disease.

“This financing will enable the exceptional work of our team to realise the next steps in product development, international expansion, and in supporting our growing user base.”

Congenica recently announced the appointment of US-based chief business officer Dr Shikha O’Brien, who will be instrumental in driving growth in international clinical diagnostics markets, as well as with global pharmaceutical discovery and development partners.

Sapientia is based on pioneering research by the UK Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, a shareholder in the company.

Dr Martin Dougherty, COO, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: “Congenica is a great example of how world-leading scientific research from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, with investment in continued technological advancement and commercialisation can be translated into products and services that have an impact on human health and society.” Congenica was the first company to move into the newly opened Biodata Innovation Centre on the Wellcome Genome Campus.

Hermann Hauser, Amadeus co-founder and partner, said: “Amadeus is known for investing in game-changing technologies and we strongly believe that Congenica’s genome-based diagnostics will have a profound impact on healthcare.

“Its data platform offers a truly personalised medicine solution, using patient-derived genomics data and providing the best diagnostic performance in the industry.”

Sapientia can produce a comprehensive diagnostic report that can be linked to patients’ symptoms, supporting clinical decision-making about rare genetic disease.