Cambridge Startup Enhances Heart Drug Discovery Using Multi-Omics Technology

CardiaTec: Pioneering Heart Disease Research

Cambridge startup CardiaTec has raised $6.5 million to accelerate drug discovery for cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, claiming the lives of 17.9 million people each year. Yet, our knowledge of their underlying biology is still limited, hindering the effectiveness of clinical trials and drug solutions.

Leveraging Multi-Omics for Drug Discovery

CardiaTec aims to address this knowledge gap with a drug discovery platform that leverages AI to analyze human tissue multi-omics data. Multi-omics is a biological analysis approach that combines the study of multiple “omes,” the sets of various biological molecules or entities within a cell or organism. These include the genome, transcriptome, proteome, and epigenome.

• Investigating Drug Targets: The startup focuses on uncovering specific molecules linked with disease progression that can be targeted by drugs.
• Using computational methods to identify dysregulated drug targets and pathways associated with cardiovascular diseases.

“This approach enables the discovery of novel drug targets with well-defined mechanisms of action, increasing the likelihood of successful preclinical and subsequent clinical translation,” said Raphael Peralta, the company’s co-founder and CEO.

Building a Comprehensive Dataset

CardiaTec is also constructing the first and largest human heart tissue multi-omics dataset through a network of 65 hospitals across the UK and the US. With this funding, the company is poised to expand its platform and advance proprietary drug targets towards the preclinical stage. “We have identified our first therapeutic targets,” Peralta added.

Founded in 2021, CardiaTec emerged from the Han Lab at the University of Cambridge, and is backed by investors including Montage Ventures, APEX Ventures, and Dr. Maximilien Levesque.