Helix: Community support platform

Helix is a population genomics company founded in 2015 by James Lu, Justin Kao, and Scott Burke. The company, headquartered in San Mateo, California, provides an end-to-end platform to support health systems, life sciences companies, and payers in utilizing genomic data. Its mission is to make genomics accessible and actionable, enabling the integration of genomic data into patient care, medical research, and public health decisions.

Helix's business model is centered on its 'Sequence Once, Query Often' strategy, which emphasizes robust data management and re-analysis capabilities. The company uses a proprietary assay called Exome+ for DNA sequencing, which covers all 22,000 protein-coding genes and other informative regions. This allows for a comprehensive genomic profile that can be used to accelerate the drug development lifecycle and personalize healthcare. Clients, including healthcare providers and life sciences firms, use Helix's platform for insights into disease risk assessment and to develop wellness programs.

Since its founding, Helix has achieved significant milestones, including raising over $400 million in funding from investors like Warburg Pincus, Kleiner Perkins, and DFJ Growth. The company has also played a role in large-scale research projects, such as a partnership with the National Geographic Society for the Genographic Project in 2016. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Helix adapted its platform for large-scale COVID-19 testing and viral surveillance, securing funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for these efforts. Co-founder James Lu currently serves as the company's CEO.

Keywords: population genomics, genomic data, clinical care, DNA sequencing, healthcare systems, life sciences, personalized medicine, Exome+, clinical research, genetic testing, data analysis, drug development, viral surveillance, health data, precision medicine, bioinformatics, clinical diagnostics, genomics research, patient care, public health