Biofidelity
Despite great progress in our ability to treat cancer, more than 600,000 patients are expected to die from cancer this year in the US alone. One of the challenges in developing and deploying effective treatments against cancer diseases is their heterogeneity: all cancer cells harbor genetic mutations that can drive cell division and tumor growth, making them distinct from their healthy neighbors — but potentially also from those of another patient with the same disease phenotype. Increasingly, the standard taxonomy of cancers (ie. separating them into lung, prostate, ovary etc.) is being expanded by their genetic differences. Molecular testing of these mutations holds the promise to empower clinicians to deliver personalized care by selecting the right treatment for the right patient at the right time, and to catch recurrence early.
But as for any treatment, its potential is only truly unlocked if it is implemented through accessible and affordable diagnostics, and if it provides actionable insights to clinicians. Today’s most accurate technology for molecular testing in oncology, next-generation-sequencing (NGS), is too complex, slow and expensive to be widely adopted. Up to 95% of patients who are eligible do not receive the targeted treatment that is not only available, but recommended by clinical guidelines. Without the tools for widespread implementation of molecular testing where it can significantly improve care, we are failing patients and clinicians.
Biofidelity has developed an ultra-sensitive cancer diagnostics platform that democratizes the ability to provide both highly accurate and frequent diagnostics to cancer patients based on markers recommended by clinical guidelines. By providing assays that run on standard lab equipment, reducing the workflow complexity to just four steps while providing on par sensitivity with NGS, Biofidelity’s technology can deliver on the so far elusive promise of fast, accurate and affordable molecular cancer diagnostics that can be run by decentralized testing labs around the world.
Our Thesis
Global spending on cancer medicine is expected to reach $160bn this year, yet average response rates to treatments can be low and lack of frequent and accurate testing may lead to life-threatening and expensive delays in catching recurrence. Through its highly accessible, accurate and scalable technology, Biofidelity can remove barriers for widespread and decentralized testing to unlock the potential of precision oncology to reduce costs and improve outcomes by matching patients with specific genetic biomarkers to targeted therapies. If Biofidelity continues to demonstrate the robustness of their platform across multiple sample types and mutations, we believe they could have the potential to become the broad standard of diagnostic testing across multiple cancer types.
We are excited to support the company’s goal of empowering clinicians everywhere with the insights they need to take care of their patients, unlocking a much greater pool of testing labs to expand access and reduce turnaround times and ultimately granting every cancer patient the opportunity to receive the best care. Biofidelity is planning to launch their first panels for treatment selection and patient monitoring in lung cancer early next year and will continue to build out their product pipeline across oncology.
We look forward to working with Barnaby Balmforth and the entire Biofidelity team on their mission to bring actionable diagnostic insights to cancer patients everywhere.
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