Sophia Genetics opens a research & development unit in Izarbel

The world leader in data-driven medicine, Sophia Genetics, which was founded in Switzerland by Jurgi Camblong, is counting on the assets of the Izarbel Technology Park to develop its innovations.

Founded in 2011 within the ecosystem of the Lausanne Federal Polytechnic School by Jurgi Camblong and Swiss nationals Pierre Hutter and Lars Steinmetz, Sophia Genetics now employs more than 160 people. Last June, it was ranked among the fifty most intelligent companies in the world by the prestigious MIT, and is specialised in data-driven medicine. It provides hospitals and laboratories with an analysis platform for DNA sequencing data, in order to detect genetic variants and offer better diagnosis and treatment for patients.

Via its SOPHiA DDM® platform, Sophia Genetics offers health professionals access to a genetic data base which continuously acquires thousands of patient genomic profiles and experts’ knowledge to improve diagnoses and treatment for patients. More than 400 establishments (hospitals, clinics, laboratories, etc.) in 60 countries use the SOPHiA DDM® analytical platform, making it the largest clinical genomic community in the world.

By creating its first research & development centre in France, Sophia Genetics hopes to benefit from the talents of the technology park, in particular the ESTIA engineering school, to further strengthen its technology. Initial recruitments have taken place and some thirty positions will be created in 2018 between the Izarbel Technology Park and the company’s Bordeaux site, which houses an entity specialised in medical imaging.

Officially announced on 12 April during an event in the presence of Jean René Etchegaray, President of the Basque Country Local Authority; Alain Rousset, President of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council; André Garreta, Chairman of the Bayonne-Basque Country Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Jurgi Camblong, the opening of a Sophia Genetics unit in Izarbel strengthens the region’s artificial intelligence ecosystem. Innovative prospects in the field of oncology are on the agenda, notably with the programme to combine image data and molecular information, in order to predict the growth of cancer by images.

For more information: www.sophiagenetics.com