Oxford Cancer Analytics (OXcan), a UK-based medtech company that develops blood tests for early cancer detection using proteomics and AI, has raised $11M (approximately €10.67M) in a Series A funding round.
The funding will support the development and global commercialisation of OXcan’s next-generation minimally invasive liquid biopsy blood tests for early lung cancer detection.
Investors supporting OXcan
The investment comes from global investors, including institutional investors specialising in disease detection and diagnostics.
The round was led by We Venture Capital and Cross-Border Impact Ventures, with participation from return investors Eka Ventures and Civilization Ventures, as well as new investors DigitalDx Ventures, Macmillan Cancer Support (Innovation Impact Investment Portfolio), Aurelium Ventures, OKG Capital, and prominent angel investors.
OXcan appoints Dr. Heinrich Roder
Besides the funding, OXcan has also named Dr. Heinrich Roder as Senior Vice President of Research & Development. He brings over 20 years of expertise in lung cancer liquid biopsy and commercialisation.
Dr. Heinrich Roder, SVP R&D at OXcan, says, “Having developed blood-based proteomic tests for lung cancer for over two decades, I appreciate the difficulty of detecting cancers early through liquid biopsy.”
“Convinced that OXcan’s unique approach can address this clinical need, I feel privileged to join the team. Together, our plan is to offer this novel technological approach to large markets worldwide to start a new era of early detection and improve patient outcomes.”
Dr. Roder will play a key role in advancing the company’s lung cancer blood test toward deployment.
Enabling curative cancer treatment through early detection
OXcan was founded in 2020 by Dr. Peter Jianrui Liu and Dr. Andreas Halner to advance early cancer detection using liquid biopsy.
The company’s 15-member team applied machine learning to liquid biopsy data, publishing results in iScience, Cell Press, showing a significant increase in detection rates across eight cancer types.
The company now has a patented approach, a proteomics lab, and a platform focused on liquid biopsy.
OXcan’s protein-based blood test identifies molecular signatures for high-risk lung cancer patients, using a global biobank for scalability. It combines proteomics and AI to offer a blood test that detects cancers with high mortality rates.
Louise Warme, MD, Head of WeVenture Capital, says, “The power of the OXcan proteomics biomarker discovery platform and the data generated by Oxcan stand out against the backdrop of other liquid biopsy companies, indicating a truly superior performance in the identification of early-stage lung cancer.”
“We have been very impressed by the team to date and look forward to supporting the company in the next phase of its growth to offer its first product to patients.”
According to the company, the tests are designed to be affordable, minimally invasive, and accurate for large populations. Since 2023, OXcan has formed partnerships with over 20 healthcare centres across three continents to develop and deploy its technology.
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