NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Pharmacogenomic testing startup Foundation Medicine has raised $25 million in a round of Series A financing led by Third Rock Ventures, the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm said today.
The venture financing will be used to develop clinical lab tests that will analyze tumor genomic and other molecular information in individual patients' cancers and link it to a base of clinical oncology data that can help physicians tailor their treatments, the company said.
"Currently, no mechanism exists whereby clinicians, in the day-today practice of clinical oncology, can systematically obtain tumor information and efficiently interpret the specific molecular alterations associated with each patient's disease," Foundation Medicine CEO Alexis Borisy said in a statement. "We believe this comprehensive tumor information could prove important in selecting optimal therapy for some patients."
The firm's founding academic advisors include Eric Lander and Todd Golub of the Broad Institute, and Levi Garraway and Matthew Meyerson of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The firm's board of directors includes Third Rock Ventures Partners' Mark Levin and Robert Tepper, as well as Agios Pharmaceuticals CEO David Schenkein.