AllStripes, a platform that helps patients share their medical data for research on rare diseases, announced it had raised $50 million in Series B financing. 

The round was led by current investor Lux Capital, with participation from AZZ Venture Partners, Spark Capital, Medidata Solutions, McKesson Ventures and Maveron. Angel investors include Arif Nathoo, CEO of Komodo Health, and Leila Zegna, director of the Kabuki Syndrome Foundation.

WHAT IT DOES

AllStripes, formerly known as RDMD, allows patients with rare diseases to access and submit their medical records so it can de-identify and analyze their information for clinical trials.

The company also partners with patient advocacy groups for the 40 conditions it serves.

“There are more than 7,000 rare diseases and only 5 percent have treatments. By working with AllStripes, we hope to improve the number of treatments available by accelerating research for rare diseases,” Dr. James M. Wilson, Rose H. Weiss professor and director of the Orphan Disease Center, which partners with AllStripes, said in a statement. 

WHAT IT’S FOR

AllStripes plans to use the capital to launch 100 new research programs, expand its global operations, enhance its data automation and continue to improve the platform’s user experience.

“Beginning research on a rare condition can feel like being dropped into a new world without a map and we are on a mission to change that with data,” CEO and cofounder Nancy Yu said in a statement.

“We’re proud that so many of our current investors have recognized the progress we’ve made and are continuing to support our vision to transform rare disease research. This investment will allow us to better support the rare disease community, where each person’s experience is essential to understanding disease progression – ultimately leading to new treatments for rare disease patients around the globe.”

MARKET SNAPSHOT

AllStripes was founded in 2017 by Yu and Onno Faber, who has neurofibromatosis type 2, a rare disease that only affects about one in 33,000 people worldwide. In 2018, the company raised $3 million in seed funding. 

In 2020, AllStripes raised another $14 million in Series A funding and announced Nabeel Hyatt, general partner at Spark Capital, would join the board of directors after Spark led the funding round. 

Other health tech companies that specialize in rare diseases include Healx and Raremark. In 2019, Microsoft, Takeda and Eurordis announced a recommendation report and three digital health pilots as part of their partnership to diagnose children with rare diseases.