SAN FRANCISCO, July 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Invitae
Corporation (NYSE: NVTA), a leading medical genetics company,
today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to
acquire Jungla Inc., a privately held company funded by Andreessen
Horowitz (a16z) that has developed a cloud-based platform that
combines clinical knowledge with advances in functional genomics,
biophysics, cellular engineering, machine learning, and distributed
systems to help clinicians and patients understand the results of
genetic and genomic tests. The combination is expected to further
enhance Invitae's genetic variant interpretation and ability to
deliver high-quality, more affordable genetic testing for use in
mainstream medical care. Separately, Invitae announced the addition
of RNA analysis to its commercial testing, beginning with patients
undergoing cancer testing.
"Interpreting the genetic variants observed during sequencing is
what turns genetic data into decision-making power for patients and
clinicians. Bringing Jungla's technologies onto our platform will
help us provide support to our patients in a scalable way," said
Sean George, co-founder and chief
executive officer of Invitae. "Whether incorporating computational
and experimental approaches for protein analysis or adding RNA
analysis to augment variant interpretation, we lead the molecular
genetic testing industry in leveraging advanced clinical genetic
variant interpretation technologies that enable us to provide
patients and clinicians with genetic information to inform
healthcare decisions."
Large-Scale Molecular and Genomic Technologies to Enhance
Variant Interpretation
Jungla's Functional Modeling Platform (FMP) is an active machine
learning engine that enhances clinical knowledge by continuously
integrating functional, structural and computational data into
auditable and accurate predictive models for clinical variant
interpretation. The technology delivers performance that exceeds
recommendations from the American College of Medical Genetics and
Genomics (ACMG) and the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP)
across hundreds of genes and conditions.
Jungla's technology can augment Invitae's ability to understand
the impact of variants on molecular function, be they protein or
RNA molecules, through the application of advanced methods in
functional genomics, structural biology and biophysics. This
technology, coupled with Invitae's exacting, logical and
reproducible approach for variant classification and
interpretation, Sherloc, can help Invitae deliver more informative
results to patients.
In November 2018, Invitae and
Jungla successfully completed a four-month pilot study of the
performance of Jungla's proprietary technologies in predicting the
clinical relevance of differences in human DNA sequence (variants)
found in individuals undergoing testing for hereditary disease. The
results demonstrated that support from Jungla's FMP can markedly
increase the molecular understanding of variants while maintaining
the high accuracy of Invitae's classifications, thereby
significantly increasing the efficiency of interpretation and
scalability of genetic testing with enhanced quality of test
results. In addition, the prospective integration of Invitae's
knowledge-base and Jungla's technologies is expected to optimize
clinical guidance, leveraging the data from each patient to improve
results for the next. The results show that Jungla's technologies
can clarify the interpretation of variants, moving them from the
uncertain category to pathogenic or benign status.
"At Jungla, we are continuously applying and combining advances
in molecular, cellular, and computational technologies to the
complex work of genetic variant interpretation with the goal of
making it easier to conduct the highest quality genetic
interpretation at scale," said Carlos
Araya, co-founder and chief executive officer of Jungla.
"Our team has been at the forefront of technologies to accelerate
the understanding of variants for nearly a decade. Combining our
learning engine with Invitae's rigorous interpretation framework
will extend the reach of our technology and help more patients and
clinicians get the information they need."
Under the definitive agreement, Invitae will acquire Jungla for
approximately $50 million upon
closing, $35 million of which shall
be in Invitae common stock and $15
million of which shall be in cash, subject to certain
adjustments. In addition, Invitae will pay up to $15 million upon the achievement of certain
milestones, mostly in stock with the balance in cash. The
acquisition is expected to close in the coming days, subject to
customary closing conditions. Invitae has already factored in the
additional operating expense of this acquisition in prior
statements about expected 2019 cash burn.
Supplemental RNA Analysis Further Deepens Variant
Classification in Cancer Testing
While most gene changes associated with a hereditary disease
have their effect by directly altering the function of the protein
that is specified by that gene, a small fraction of gene changes
are known to alter the way messenger RNAs (mRNAs), the blueprints
for proteins, are made in the body. A growing area of research has
focused on using RNA analysis to help resolve variants of uncertain
significance (VUS), particularly those VUS that are predicted to
affect mRNA creation, also known as RNA splicing. In order to
contribute to this research and further reduce the uncertainty
inherent in genetic testing results, Invitae has added supplemental
RNA testing for VUS that are predicted to affect RNA splicing and
have been identified in a gene from any of our hereditary cancer
panels.
Invitae's approach to supplemental RNA analysis, RNA-seq,
includes both qualitative (evaluation of abnormal mRNAs) and
quantitative (the amount of mRNAs) results, which ultimately
provides deeper insight into the variant-disease relationship
compared to the use of qualitative results alone.
"The addition of RNA analysis to our variant classification
pipeline provides another tool to reduce the number of variants
that cannot be confidently classified based on DNA sequencing
alone," said Robert Nussbaum, chief
medical officer of Invitae. "By applying this technology first to
those cancer genes and variants where it is most immediately
useful, we can provide deeper, more complete genetic information
for patients and clinicians making critical clinical
decisions."
RNA analysis is now in use as a component of Invitae's VUS
resolution program as applied to Invitae's hereditary cancer
syndrome gene testing, with broader application in other disease
areas planned for later this year.
About Jungla
Jungla Inc. is an artificial intelligence
(AI)-driven biotechnology company utilizing computational and
cellular modeling to improve clinical genetic tests. Jungla's
technologies are designed to continually optimize guidance for
clinical genetic and genomic tests by combining advances in
functional genomics, computational biophysics, cellular
engineering, and computer science into its cloud-based Functional
Modeling Platform (FMP). This integrated platform provides patients
and healthcare providers with accurate, transparent, and
increasingly mechanistic clinical guidance. For further
information, visit jungla.bio.
About Invitae
Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA) is a
leading medical genetics company, whose mission is to bring
comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to
improve healthcare for billions of people. Invitae's goal is to
aggregate the world's genetic tests into a single service with
higher quality, faster turnaround time, and lower prices. For more
information, visit the company's website at invitae.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements
relating to the potential benefits of the proposed acquisition; the
expected timing of the proposed acquisition; the capabilities and
potential benefits of Jungla's technology, including as integrated
with the company's knowledge-base and interpretation framework; the
company's business strategy, and its beliefs regarding ways in
which the proposed acquisition will contribute to its strategy; the
potential benefits of the company's supplemental RNA analysis; and
the timing of the company's plans to apply RNA analysis more
broadly to other disease areas. Forward-looking statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially, and reported results should not be considered
as an indication of future performance. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the parties'
ability to satisfy the conditions precedent to the consummation of
the proposed transaction; the occurrence of any event that could
give rise to the termination of the definitive agreement;
unanticipated difficulties or expenditures relating to the proposed
transaction; the risk that expected benefits of the proposed
transaction may not be achieved in a timely manner, or at all; the
risk that Jungla may not be successfully integrated with the
company's business following the closing; the company's history of
losses; the company's ability to compete; the company's failure to
manage growth effectively; the company's ability to use rapidly
changing genetic data to interpret test results accurately and
consistently; security breaches, loss of data and other
disruptions; laws and regulations applicable to the company's
business; and the other risks set forth in the company's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks
set forth in the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2019. These
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and
Invitae Corporation disclaims any obligation to update these
forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Laura
D'Angelo
pr@invitae.com
(628) 213-3283
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SOURCE Invitae Corporation