NEW YORK – Cancer molecular diagnostics company Biofidelity said on Tuesday that it has raised $23 million in a heavily oversubscribed Series A+ funding round.
Octopus Ventures led the round, backed by SBI Investment and existing investors.
Cambridge, UK-based Biofidelity plans to use the money to fund the upcoming launch of ASPYRE-Lung, its pyrophosphorolysis-based lung cancer mutation detection assay. The assay will initially be available as a lab-developed test through the firm's CLIA-certified North Carolina lab, although the company ultimately intends for clients to perform it themselves in a point-of-care setting.
ASPYRE-Lung, which stands for Allele-Specific Pyrophosphorolysis Reaction, relies on a biochemical reaction that essentially works like reverse DNA synthesis. Although the technique is new to the commercial molecular diagnostics arena, it runs on existing PCR technology.
The assay currently detects 111 mutations relevant to non-small cell lung carcinoma, but Biofidelity plans to expand the test to cover other cancer indications.
"Our mission is to ensure that all patients diagnosed with cancer have access to the genomic information they need to receive the best possible treatment," Barnaby Balmforth, Biofidelity's CEO, said in a statement. "This financing is an important step towards making this vision a reality, enabling us to launch our revolutionary technology and to make comprehensive biomarker testing faster, more affordable, and more accessible than ever before."
The new funding following a $12 million Series A funding round the firm completed in 2020, bringing its total capital raised to date to $36 million.