Formation Bio Secures $372 Million Series D Funding for AI-Driven Drug Development

Formation Bio, an AI-native pharmaceutical company, has raised $372 million in Series D financing, led by a16z and Sanofi. Additional investors include Sequoia, Thrive, Emerson Collective, Lachy Groom, SV Angel Growth, and FPV Ventures. This funding brings new board members Scott Kupor from a16z and Alfred Lin from Sequoia.

Formation Bio, originally launched as TrialSpark in 2016, utilizes AI to enhance drug development efficiency, addressing high costs and lengthy clinical trials. The company partners with, acquires, or in-licenses drugs to advance them beyond clinical proof of concept.

See also: AI Drug Discovery: Key Trends and Developments in Pharmaceutical Industry

Strategic Focus Areas

Acquisition and In-Licensing: The funds will be used to acquire and in-license clinical-stage assets, benefiting both small biotech firms and large pharmaceutical companies by providing efficient development pathways.

AI Integration: Formation Bio's AI capabilities streamline clinical trial processes and automate tasks such as patient recruitment and adverse event reporting. Their collaboration with OpenAI and Sanofi aims to create advanced AI solutions for drug development.

Because of their tech, data, and operational foundations, Formation Bio has rapidly integrated large language models (LLMs), AI models, and applications throughout its platform. The company's vision is to automate many core drug development functions, such as medical writing, protocol development, biostatistics, report generation, and regulatory intelligence, using fine-tuned and customized LLMs coupled with expert human oversight and reinforcement.

Topics: Startups & Deals