iLoF: Accelerating personalised medicine

“There is more personalisation in clothes than in how you buy medicine,” says Luis Valente, CEO of iLoF, a digital health company focused on personalised drug discovery. “If a t-shirt is too small, the shop assistant will bring you another size. But in clinical trials, they’ll say the t-shirt is broken.”

IMPROVING CLINICAL TRIALS

Founded in 2019 in Porto, iLoF uses an AI-powered platform to collect and analyse light-based signals from biological samples. These signals create a unique profile, revealing key details about the sample’s characteristics. iLoF can thus improve the selection of patients in clinical trials based on factors like disease cause, stage, or severity. In practical terms, this is groundbreaking. The company focuses on Alzheimer’s, the largest and fastest-growing disease without effective treatment. Clinical trials for Alzheimer’s are difficult, with 90% of patients dropping out due to invasive screening. Of those screened, 80% are deemed unsuitable after lengthy, risky procedures, costing up to €2,000 per screening. “One drug doesn’t fit all,” Luis explains. “That’s why many Alzheimer’s trials fail.” iLoF saw an opportunity to change the game. Their blood-based screenings reduce patient variability, improving trial reliability and cutting costs by 30%, and time spent on screening patients by 70%.

SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE

European funding was crucial in launching this project. EIT Health was iLoF’s first investor, enabling a large clinical study across ten hospitals in Portugal and Spain, which helped develop iLoF. Faber, a venture capital firm from Portugal backed by the EIF, further financed the young start-up. “We were often told to leave Europe for America,” says Luis. “But we believe deep tech in Europe is gaining momentum. The opportunity to collect talent and data is vast. We wanted to stay, and Faber made that decision easier.” While most funds want to see returns after one year, Faber understands “the bigger picture,” says Luis. “Instead of asking about immediate revenue, they asked us about our science and ultimate deep-tech potential.”

THE IMPACT OF AI

Looking ahead, iLoF will begin fundraising again in 2025 to scale operations, expanding its platform and collecting more data. “We have around 10,000 biological profiles stored. We estimate that the value of this data alone would cover one-third of our valuation,” says Luis. “This is an emerging field, and while we entered it early, it’s a race to the finishing line, as pharmaceutical companies realise this technology can save them billions.” Luis concludes by expressing optimism about the future: “As a society, we are moving towards a world of abundance. We are at a critical juncture for AI, and I believe we are working in the sector, healthcare, where AI can have the most significant impact.”

Location:  Porto, Portugal
Financial Intermediary: Faber Tech II, FCR
SME: iLoF
Sector: life science, AI
Number of employees: 30
Financing purpose: R&D
EIF financing:  RCR; NPI IFD