OmicsDiscoveries
Introducing OmicsDiscoveries
OmicsDiscoveries is a Software-as-a-Service Start-up that offers the bioinformatics analysis of genetic data, mainly focused on RNA, for rare disease diagnostics purposes. The founders are 3 bioinformaticians from the TUM. The company’s aim is to enable clinicians to perform a correct genetic diagnosis by offering a reliable analysis of the patient’s genetic data.
The Product OmicsDiscoveries is offering:
"We process the genetic data of patients (>10 GB per individual), combine it with the clinical data, run our AI-based algorithms that we developed during our studies, and obtain the genes that are likely to be the cause of the genetic disease. The findings are reported back to clinicians in a specialised analysis platform called RNAvision in less than a week."
Their entry point when joining TUM Venture Lab Healthcare:
"We joined the TUM VL Healthcare in January 2024. Back then, we knew that our algorithms worked robustly for the desired purpose and had decided to commercialise them. We had also applied for some pre-seeding grants and were defining our business model."
Insights into their founding challenge(s):
"As the 3 of us are bioinformaticians, we had little to no experience with the legal requirements to found a start-up. In addition, we were unfamiliar with start-up and business concepts (such as USPs, TOM, MVP, etc.). Finally, we had trouble defining our market and who our actual clients are."
Looking back: How TUM Venture Lab Healthcare was able to support OmicsDiscoveries in the past:
"The TUM VL guided us to move from our “academic/scientific” way of thinking to a more business-oriented mindset. This meant defining our problem-solution fit and our product’s added value that customers will be willing to pay for. In addition, the office space is immensely helpful."
OmicsDiscoveries key advice for Founders:
"Get a team that you can trust; preferably with complementary expertise. Once you have a well-defined idea, run it through key opinion leaders and ask them what they think about it. Be sure that they not only like it but would be willing to pay for it. That makes the whole difference. Finally, be sure to cultivate an extensive network, including mentors and potential customers."
Bonus: A key moment within OmicsDiscoveries Startup career
"Our service begins when hospitals transfer patient genetic data to us. Given the sensitive nature of this data, a legally vetted Data Transfer Agreement (DTA) must first be signed by the hospital. Only after the DTA is fully executed (a process that typically takes a couple of months) can data sharing begin. Securing our first signed DTA with a German hospital marked a highly significant milestone for us."
