31 August 2018 - - US-based biotechnology company Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) and UK-based genome analysis company Genomics plc have agreed to a three-year collaboration, extendable to five years, to use human genetics and machine learning to improve discovery of targets for precision medicines, and to advance understanding of the clinical impact of human genetic variation and patient stratification in diseases with significant unmet need, the companies said.

The goal of the collaboration is to further advance Vertex's efforts to develop transformative precision medicines for people with serious diseases.

Genomics has developed a unique analysis engine, which uses genetics to understand human biology and the likely efficacy and safety of potential novel medicines.

The Genomics engine is the largest of its kind in the world, with over 100bn data points. It links human genetic variation at over 14 m positions in the human genome to changes in 7,000 molecular, cellular, and physiological measurements and disease outcomes.

The company uses proprietary machine learning and statistical algorithms to predict the impact of therapeutic interventions.

Scientists from Vertex and Genomics will work closely together to incorporate their deep understanding of human genetics into research and development related to target discovery and target validation in certain diseases.

Both companies will also have the opportunity to suggest additional diseases for the collaboration, where human genetic evidence may be particularly powerful.

In addition to funding the resources committed by Genomics to the collaboration, Vertex will make milestone and royalty payments to the company for novel targets resulting from the collaboration that are taken through clinical development. Dr. Altshuler will also join the Genomics plc board of directors.

Additionally, Vertex has made a GBP 10.5m equity investment in Genomics plc as part of its GBP 25m series B funding round also announced this week.

Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for people with serious and life-threatening diseases.

In addition to clinical development programs in cystic fibrosis, Vertex has more than a dozen ongoing research programs focused on the underlying mechanisms of other serious diseases.

Founded in 1989 in Cambridge, Mass., Vertex's headquarters is now located in Boston's Innovation District. Today, the company has research and development sites and commercial offices in the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia.

Genomics plc is a genome analysis company formed in 2014 by four leading scientists at the University of Oxford, including Professors Peter Donnelly (then director of the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics) and Gil McVean (director of Oxford's Big Data Institute).