Dublin-based biotech startup Meta-Flux has raised €1.8 million in seed funding to advance its AI-powered platform designed to improve drug development accuracy and reduce costly failures in pharmaceutical research. The round was backed by senior executives from major pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Merck, and Gilead Sciences, alongside technology leaders from Google, Amazon, and Indeed.
Addressing Drug Development Inefficiencies
The funding comes as the pharmaceutical industry grapples with significant challenges in drug development efficiency. According to CEO and immunologist Lee Sherlock, it takes approximately $2 billion on average for a successful drug to reach the market, with only around one in 100,000 drugs successfully completing the entire development funnel to reach patients.
"The goal isn't that we get more drugs to market – it's that we get more accuracy on the drugs that we do bring to market," Sherlock explained. The company's approach focuses on helping researchers identify the correct applications for drugs that have already been developed, addressing a critical gap where promising compounds fail due to targeting the wrong disease applications or patient populations.
AI-Powered Biological Analysis Platform
Meta-Flux's platform functions as an "AI biologist," analyzing complex biological, clinical, and experimental datasets to help scientists test hypotheses and identify promising therapeutic pathways. The system combines data from genes, proteins, and metabolic pathways, applying biological reasoning with AI to reveal how biological systems function as a whole.
"Once you have that drug and once you have the target, we help you figure out what application you should go after, what subtype of that disease, and how to get better accuracy around what patients you're going to be treating," Sherlock said.
The platform's systems-level approach helps drug developers discover better treatments faster, avoid costly dead ends, and accelerate the path from preclinical research to clinical application. In early pilot runs with Mercury, a biotech firm, Meta-Flux successfully identified novel biomarkers and flagged preclinical risks.
Industry Recognition and Market Outlook
A senior director in R&D at Gilead Sciences, who also invested in Meta-Flux, provided insight into the platform's potential impact: "Over the next 12 to 18 months, I expect AI to transform preclinical research, accelerate discovery, improve prediction accuracy and reduce costs. The key for big pharma is identifying valuable AI partners in an increasingly crowded space, those who marry deep biological insight with advanced modelling to address focused, high-impact questions."
Fernando Ferrer, a data engineering leader and Meta-Flux investor, emphasized the platform's practical value: "In a market saturated with AI claims, Meta-Flux stands out because it delivers actionable answers. Their platform gives scientists a way to cut through the noise and accelerate the path from development to decision."
Expansion Plans and Team Building
Founded in 2021 by Sherlock and chief technology officer Brendan Martin, Meta-Flux has been developing its specialized "biology-first" AI models in-house. The company secured €100,000 from Enterprise Ireland in 2023 and fully commercialized its product earlier this year after more than four years of research and development.
With the new funding, Meta-Flux plans to expand its technical team in Ireland to eight specialists while strengthening business development efforts in both US and European markets. "There's a real potential to build a really strong nucleus – a technical nucleus – in Ireland that could really help pharmaceutical companies that are both US and EU bound," Sherlock noted.
The startup recently completed several accelerator programs, including Techstars Chicago (powered by JP Morgan), MassBio Drive in Boston, and the NDRC accelerator at Dogpatch Labs. These programs have connected the company with pharmaceutical mentors and investors, positioning it for continued growth in the competitive AI-driven drug development space.
