‘Lab-in-the-loop’ approach seeks to ensure targets are causally linked in bone health, immunology and metabolic disease.
British biotech Relation today announced an additional $26 million in funding to support its ongoing work in osteoporosis, alongside programs in immunology and metabolic disease. The latest financing follows the completion of a $60 million seed round last year and bolsters the company’s mission to apply computation, human biology and experimental systems to the development of new medicines.
London-based Relation is built on the premise that improving the probability of success in drug development requires deeper confidence in the biology driving human disease. Its strategy centers on a so-called “lab-in-the-loop” platform that combines machine learning with multi-omic data generated directly from patient tissue. By cycling continually between computational predictions and perturbational experiments, Relation aims to identify causal genes, validate mechanisms and refine target hypotheses before programs reach the clinic, ultimately seeking to reduce failure rates by ensuring targets are causally linked to disease. Osteoporosis is the company’s first therapeutic focus.
“Aging-related bone disease affects more than 45 million people across the US, Europe, and Japan, and remains a major unmet need,” Relation CEO David Roblin told us. “Osteoporosis, with its extensive genetic architecture and validated translational path, provides the ideal setting to showcase the strength of our technology.”
To support its osteoporosis program, Relation has developed “Osteomics” – an observational study generating what the company describes as a functional, single-cell atlas of human bone. Samples from the UK and Australia are analysed using single-cell and spatial omics, imaging, proteomics and genomics to characterise bone homeostasis, reveal new biology and delineate patient subgroups that may inform targeted interventions. The resulting insights feed directly into the company’s target-discovery and validation workflow.
“Importantly, bone is only the beginning,” Roblin told us. “Our platform is built to uncover biology and generate targets across many disease areas. The same engine driving Osteomics is enabling our teams to advance programmes in immunology and metabolic disease. Ultimately, our objective is to turn the biological insights we discover into transformational medicines for patients with urgent unmet needs.”
Beyond its own pipeline, Relation continues to expand its portfolio through strategic collaborations with the pharmaceutical industry. Last year it entered two multi-program agreements with GSK aimed at identifying and validating new therapeutic targets for fibrotic diseases and osteoarthritis. GSK provided $45 million in upfront and equity payments, with additional success-based payments of up to $63 million and potential milestone payouts that could reach $200 million per target.
Relation today added a further partnership with Novartis focused on the discovery of targets for atopic diseases driven by immune dysregulation. The agreement includes $55 million in upfront, equity and R&D funding, and provides for up to $1.7 billion in potential milestones, in addition to tiered royalties.
NVIDIA’s computing infrastructure underpins the company’s data-intensive machine-learning workflows, and the chip giant was an early investor in Relation through its NVentures investment arm. In addition to continued participation from NVentures, the latest funding round was secured from other existing backers, including DCVC and Magnetic Ventures.
“Relation’s unique combination of computation, experimentation, and patient data will reduce failure rates in drug development and transform the way we treat common, devastating diseases,” said DCVC’s Jason Pontin.
