Second Genome is a technology company.
Second Genome has raised $58.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Second Genome has raised $58.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Second Genome has raised $58.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Second Genome's investors include Jazz Venture Partners, Lightstone Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures.
Second Genome is a tech-enabled biotechnology company founded in 2009 that leverages its proprietary sg-4sight platform to analyze microbial genetics for discovering precision therapies and biomarkers, primarily targeting diseases like ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel diseases, and neoplasms.[1][2][3] It serves pharmaceutical partners and patients by developing small molecule drugs and microbial insights, solving unmet needs in microbiome-based treatments through big data analytics on human microbiota.[1][2][3] The company has shown growth via venture funding—$11.5M Series A and $42.6M Series B by 2016—partnerships with Pfizer and Janssen, and a DNA sequencing service for revenue, expanding from 18 employees in 2014 to around 50 by 2020.[3][5]
Second Genome was established in 2009 (with some sources noting 2010) in South San Francisco (also listed as Brisbane, CA) by Corey Goodman, a venture capitalist and former Pfizer executive, and Todd DeSantis, an expert in microbial research and the company's VP of informatics.[1][3][4] The founders, backed by leaders in molecular diagnostics and biotech R&D, drew inspiration from the "second genome" concept—the diverse microbial genomes in the human body alongside our native genome—to build a platform elucidating microbiota-human physiology links.[3][4] Early traction included a 2013 ulcerative colitis research deal with Janssen, an $11.5M Series A, and a $42.6M Series B in 2016, alongside launches like small molecule SGM-1019 and a microbial DNA sequencing service.[3]
Second Genome rides the microbiome therapeutics trend, exploding post-2010s with recognition of gut microbiota's role in immunity, inflammation, and oncology, amplified by advances in sequencing and AI-driven analytics.[2][3] Timing aligns with big pharma's shift to precision medicine amid rising IBD and cancer burdens, bolstered by falling sequencing costs and regulatory interest in live biotherapeutics.[3][6] Market forces like venture capital in biotech (evident in its funding rounds) and partnerships favor it, influencing the ecosystem by validating microbial genetics as a drug modality and enabling pharma to tap "second genome" data for faster target ID.[1][3]
Second Genome's preclinical pipeline and platform position it for milestone advancements, potentially advancing assets like SG-500455 into trials amid microbiome market growth projected through precision oncology and IBD therapies. Evolving trends in AI-microbiome integration and combo therapies with immuno-oncology could amplify its influence, especially via expanded pharma alliances. As a pioneer extracting microbial insights for transformational drugs, its trajectory hinges on clinical proof-of-concept, tying back to its core mission of unlocking the human microbiota's therapeutic potential.[1][2][6]
Second Genome has raised $58.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $51.0M Series B in April 2016.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2016 | $51.0M Series B | Jazz Venture Partners, Lightstone Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures | |
| Jun 1, 2013 | $7.0M Series A | Jazz Venture Partners, Lightstone Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures |