Bostinno
Cambridge startup raises $257M for early cancer detection
By: Allison DeAngelis
A Cambridge startup developing a blood test to better detect early cancer has raised new venture capital funding as it mulls an early product launch.
Thrive Earlier Detection Corp. raised $257 million in new financing this week. At least 11 new investors, including Bain Capital Life Sciences, contributed to the Series B funding round alongside existing investors.
Thrive launched early last year with $110 million in Series A funding, which was one of the biggest Series A rounds at the time (a list that is currently topped by Sana Biotechnology and EQRx). That money will come in handy as it fends off competitors like Grail Inc. and Guardant Health, which have both raised large pools of financing.
At the time of its launch, Thrive had already begun its first clinical trial: a 10,000-subject study assessing how well its blood test, known as CancerSEEK, could detect pieces of tumor DNA and proteins associated with different types of cancers.
Using the diagnostic tool alongside standard technology like a PET or CT scan proved 99.6 percent effective at detecting tumors in 10 different organs, Thrive reported in April. The majority of the 96 cancer cases CancerSEEK helped identify were in the early stages, according to the company.
Thrive’s next clinical trial will be even larger, studying tens of thousands of people across the U.S., according to CEO Dave Daly. It will use the data to support an application asking the FDA to approve the test for widespread use.
The 100-person company hopes to begin that trial next year, pending discussions with federal regulators.
Thrive is also exploring running a pilot program of its diagnostic test “so that we are ready to integrate into a clinical setting when the test is broadly accessible following an FDA approval,” Daly told the Business Journal.
