Nearly six months after Eli Lilly inked a neuroscience partnership with Verge Genomics, the pharmaceutical giant is strengthening its ties to the artificial intelligence startup by joining a $98 million financing that will support the biotech’s drug pipeline, including an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) drug on its way to human testing.

The research of San Francisco-based Verge employs AI to find the targets for its small molecule drugs. The startup has created a proprietary database of human brain tissue from patients who have neurodegenerative disorders. The company contends that this “all in human” approach is a better suited for drug discovery compared to tests with animal models. The company’s initial focus is developing drugs that address genetic drivers of ALS. Verge’s other drug research spans Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, progressive supranuclear palsy, and schizophrenia.

Verge has pipeline of drugs discovered with its AI technology. The most advanced of them is an ALS drug candidate that targets a lipid kinase called PIKfyve. By hitting this target, the goal is to restore or improve the function of lysosomes, a part of cells that clears away problem proteins that can cause disease. With the new financing, Verge said it will advance its PIKfvye-targeting molecule to clinical testing in 2022.

The partnership that Verge signed with Lilly over the summer covers additional ALS targets. Verge is receiving $25 million under the three-year pact, which will see the partners use the startup’s technology to validate those targets. Lilly has the option to advance up to four drug candidates through clinical development and commercialization. If any of those drugs reach the market, Verge could receive up to $694 million in milestone payments.

Verge closed a $32 million Series A round of financing in 2018. Funds managed by BlackRock led the Series B funding. Besides Lilly, new investors that joined the latest round include, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Section 32, and Vulcan Capital. Earlier investors Threshold Ventures, ALS Investment Fund, Tao Capital Partners, and Lifeforce Capital also participated.

Pre-Christmas cash is filing the stockings of other startups. Here’s a look at other financings announced Thursday.

Tasso tallies $100M to ramp up production of blood collection device

Tasso, a Seattle-based developer of a blood collection medical device, closed $100 million in Series B financing. The Tasso device enables patients to collect their own blood samples conveniently at home. In the funding announcement, CEO Ben Casavant said that the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a fundamental shift in healthcare, driving demand for more in-home solutions. Applications of the Tasso blood collection devices include decentralized clinical trials and remote patient monitoring.

RA Capital Management led Tasso’s new financing. Other new investors in the latest round are the D.E. Shaw group, Senvest, InCube, and SVB Innovation Fund. Earlier investors Foresite Capital, Hambrecht Ducera Growth Ventures, J2V, Cedars-Sinai, and Merck Global Health Innovation Fund also participated. Tasso said it will use the new capital to scale its manufacturing and operations to meet the increased demand for its of blood collection devices and decentralized health testing services.

Brainomix gets £16 million to expand its AI platform beyond stroke

The AI platform of Brainomix validates imaging biomarkers that can be used making diagnostic and treatment decision. Application of that technology to stroke imaging has found a place in healthcare systems in Europe and other parts of the world. Now the Oxford, United Kingdom-based startup wants to expand that technology to other therapeutic indications, and it has raised £16 million (about $21.2 million) to support the effort.

Additional targets identified by the company include lung fibrosis and cancer. The new cash, a Series B round of financing, will also support plans for partnerships with pharmaceutical companies. Those alliances could include use of the technology clinical trials, spurring adoption of current therapies in new indications, and improving patient outcomes. Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Parkwalk Advisors led the new round of financing. They were joined by Tencent Holdings and Oxford University Innovation Fund.

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