What exactly does CohortLayer return?

Aggregate evidence about your target or hypothesis across large human cohorts — effect size, carrier counts, replication status, and phenotype and safety signals. Never individual-level data.

What does cross-cohort replication mean and why does it matter?

It means testing the same hypothesis separately in two large human populations and checking whether the result holds in both. It matters because a signal that appears in one population may not replicate in another; replication is the strongest filter against a false signal before capital is committed.

How current is the evidence?

It is kept current for as long as the target is monitored. Variants get reclassified and new findings are published continuously, so CohortLayer re-runs the validation as the evidence changes and flags what moved — rather than handing you a one-time report that goes stale.

Do you download, move, or store the genetic data?

No. The analysis runs inside each cohort's secure environment, and only aggregate results leave. Individual records are never downloaded, moved, or re-identified.

Is my target or hypothesis confidential?

Yes. Your target is your IP. We test it privately and the results come back only to you.

How is this different from free public tools like Open Targets?

Public tools tell you what has been published in general. CohortLayer binds that evidence to real cohorts, replicates it across two populations separately, keeps it continuously updated, and tests your own private hypothesis — then reports what it means for your specific target.

Why not just run this analysis in-house?

Many teams could, in principle — but running evidence against population-scale cohorts, replicating across populations, and keeping it current as interpretations change is slow, specialized, ongoing work. CohortLayer is the layer that does it continuously, so you don't have to build and maintain the infrastructure.

Is CohortLayer a medical or diagnostic service?

No. It returns aggregate, population-level evidence to organizations. It does not provide individual medical or diagnostic results.

Who is CohortLayer for?

Biotech, AI-drug-discovery (techbio), and translational research teams who need human-genetic validation of a target but don't want to build and run the infrastructure themselves.

What do you need from us to start?

The target or hypothesis you want to validate. The detailed conversation happens after you request access — the form only asks for name, work email, organization, and optionally a line about what you'd like to validate (no confidential details needed at that stage).

Frequently asked questions

CohortLayer validates drug targets against large human cohorts and returns aggregate, replicated evidence. The questions below cover what you receive, how the data is handled, how the method differs from public tools, and what it is and isn't. For the underlying science and data, see the science page; for the process, see how it works.

What you receive

What exactly does CohortLayer return?
Aggregate evidence about your target or hypothesis across large human cohorts — effect size, carrier counts, replication status, and phenotype and safety signals. Never individual-level data.
What does cross-cohort replication mean and why does it matter?
It means testing the same hypothesis separately in two large human populations and checking whether the result holds in both. It matters because a signal that appears in one population may not replicate in another; replication is the strongest filter against a false signal before capital is committed.
How current is the evidence?
It is kept current for as long as the target is monitored. Variants get reclassified and new findings are published continuously, so CohortLayer re-runs the validation as the evidence changes and flags what moved — rather than handing you a one-time report that goes stale.

Data, privacy, and confidentiality

Do you download, move, or store the genetic data?
No. The analysis runs inside each cohort's secure environment, and only aggregate results leave. Individual records are never downloaded, moved, or re-identified.
Is my target or hypothesis confidential?
Yes. Your target is your IP. We test it privately and the results come back only to you.

How it compares

How is this different from free public tools like Open Targets?
Public tools tell you what has been published in general. CohortLayer binds that evidence to real cohorts, replicates it across two populations separately, keeps it continuously updated, and tests your own private hypothesis — then reports what it means for your specific target.
Why not just run this analysis in-house?
Many teams could, in principle — but running evidence against population-scale cohorts, replicating across populations, and keeping it current as interpretations change is slow, specialized, ongoing work. CohortLayer is the layer that does it continuously, so you don't have to build and maintain the infrastructure.

What it is and isn't

Is CohortLayer a medical or diagnostic service?
No. It returns aggregate, population-level evidence to organizations. It does not provide individual medical or diagnostic results.
Who is CohortLayer for?
Biotech, AI-drug-discovery (techbio), and translational research teams who need human-genetic validation of a target but don't want to build and run the infrastructure themselves.
What do you need from us to start?
The target or hypothesis you want to validate. The detailed conversation happens after you request access — the form only asks for name, work email, organization, and optionally a line about what you'd like to validate (no confidential details needed at that stage).

Up next

Start with the case for genetic evidence