AI company Unlearn has secured $50m in a Series C funding round led by Altimeter Capital, for optimising clinical research with digital twin technology.
The funding round saw participation from returning investors namely Wittington Ventures, Radical Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Epic Ventures, and Necessary Venture Capital.
These investors join Altimeter Capital in supporting Unlearn's mission. Insight Partners, 8VC, DCVC, and DCVC Bio are also among the investors backing the company's approach to clinical trials.
The company will use the investment to advance its mission of using AI to reduce trial and error in medicine. This will be achieved by investing in its workforce, data, engineering expertise, and lasting research and development approaches.
Since its inception in 2017, Unlearn has secured more than $130m for developing AI solutions that create digital twins for trial participants, leading to smaller, quicker studies.
Its technology is designed to tackle challenges associated with clinical research, such as extended timelines, sluggish enrolment, and reluctance of patients due to the possibility of receiving a placebo.
The company’s AI models create a digital twin for each participant before they are randomised into the trial's experimental or control arm. Subsequently, the digital twins predict health outcomes under a placebo, irrespective of the actual therapy assignment.
This approach enables TwinRCTs, highly powered trials that have smaller control groups.
TwinRCTs also allow more patients to receive experimental treatments and reduce the time required to bring new drugs and therapies to market.
Unlearn has been collaborating with regulatory experts since its foundation and has achieved a qualification from the European Medicines Agency for use in Phase II and III clinical trials with continuous outcomes.
Additionally, the US Food and Drug Administration has agreed that Unlearn's methodology aligns with current guidance.
Unlearn founder and CEO Charles Fisher said: “Pharmaceutical companies are spending over $100bn a year on clinical research, yet the industry remains sceptical about new technology that has the power to truly transform research.
“Breaking down these barriers and proving the value of digital twin technology continues to be a main driver for us at Unlearn. And, this round of financing will allow us to not only grow our team but also expand our capabilities into more therapeutic areas to build awareness and prove the value.”
In April 2022, Unlearn secured $50m in a Series B financing round led by US-based global venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners.
