Cambridge-based cancer diagnostics company Biofidelity has raised a $12m (£9.2m).
The Series A financing round was led by BlueYard Capital and backed by investors including Longwall Ventures and Agilent Technologies.
Biofidelity, listed in BusinessCloud’s 100 HealthTech Pioneers, offers technology to simplify genetic testing while providing the key benefits of next generation sequencing (NGS).
The company said it estimates that 95% of cancer patients are currently excluded from NGS due to high cost, complexity, and slow turnaround times.
Biofidelity claims to provide clinically actionable data based on ultra-sensitive detection of the markers recommended in cancer treatment guidelines, enabling oncologists to prescribe the right cancer drug at the right time to many more patients.
Biofidelity is initially focusing on diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer, with potential across a broad range of cancers as well as applications in the detection of resistance to therapy and disease recurrence.
The Series A funds will be used to accelerate the development and clinical validation of oncology panels for treatment selection and patient monitoring in oncology.
Dr Barnaby Balmforth, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Biofidelity, said: “Delivering on the promise of precision medicine to improve outcomes for cancer patients relies on clinicians being able to precisely identify actionable genetic markers.
“We are removing the barriers that prevent the vast majority of patients from having access to the high-quality information associated with existing DNA sequencing approaches. Biofidelity’s assay is specifically designed to allow easy adoption by laboratories around the world and to enable all cancer patients to receive optimal treatment based on best-in-class information.”
Cameron Frayling, co-founder of Biofidelity, added: “With an initial focus on well-established, widely reimbursed markers used in targeted treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, Biofidelity has potential in a broad range of cancers and future applications in routine monitoring of patients for detection of resistance to therapy and disease recurrence.”