Cambridge-based Biofidelity, a commercial-stage genomic technology company, announced on Wednesday, April 3, that it has secured $24M (approximately €22M) in a fresh funding round, bringing the total funding raised to $60M (approximately €55.3M).
Current investors, including Agilent Technologies, Octopus Ventures, BlueYard Capital, and Longwall Ventures, backed the funding round.
Fund utilisation
Biofidelity will use the new funds to help propel its growth. It includes expanding commercially and clinically in the United States to accelerate the adoption of ASPYRE-Lung, a test that simplifies and speeds up the detection of biomarkers for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
With this test, clinicians can determine the best treatment for each patient in days, instead of weeks, and at a fraction of the cost of current sequencing tests.
Additionally, the capital will allow the company to establish a dedicated manufacturing facility in the United Kingdom and accelerate efforts to expand its pipeline across its innovative technology platforms.
“This significant investment underlines the confidence of our investors in Biofidelity’s unique technologies and our mission to bring the benefits of precision medicine to all patients,” says Biofidelity Co-Founder and CEO Dr. Barnaby Balmforth.
“It provides us with the capital needed to expand the adoption of ASPYRE-Lung, a completely new category of molecular diagnostic that fulfills an acute unmet clinical need for people with lung cancer and the clinicians who treat them,” adds Balmforth.
Biofidelity: Discovering the potential of genomics
Founded in 2019, Biofidelity is a commercial-stage genomic technology company with a mission to bring the benefits of precision medicine to patients around the world.
ASPYRE is the company’s first application in the molecular biology technology platform, making genomic analysis simpler, faster, and more efficient. It provides straightforward, cost-effective access to the vital information needed for accurate targeting and monitoring of cancer treatment.
ASPYRE-Lung RUO solves key issues that create barriers to biomarker testing.
ASPYRE runs on existing PCR instruments already available in laboratories globally and can be rapidly implemented without new laboratory staff, sample batching, or complex bioinformatics.
ASPYRE’s high sensitivity enables testing from tissue samples with as little as 10% tumor content, compared to 20% or 30% for most competing assays.
Further, it enables fast analysis of comprehensive panels of genomic biomarkers without the need to send samples to a centralised lab, which often takes weeks to obtain results, allowing labs to maintain control of valuable samples.
“Biofidelity’s technologies are positioned to address critical gaps in genomic testing and research,” says Tad Weems, managing director of the Early Stage Partnership program at Agilent Technologies. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Biofidelity as the team embarks on the next phase of their growth and commercial expansion.”
Since securing an oversubscribed Series A+ investment in early 2022, Biofidelity has reached notable milestones, including the successful launch of two commercial products and gaining substantial scientific traction with the publication of 12 white papers and clinical data sets in collaboration with leading cancer centers utilising ASPYRE-Lung.
Additionally, the company has kickstarted pilot and/or commercial programs at 15 top-tier cancer centers, laboratories, and pharmaceutical companies in the United States, thus accelerating the commercial adoption of ASPYRE-Lung.
The UK company has expanded its global team, doubling its top-tier talent.
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