EnterpriseWorks Startup SimBioSys Raises $15 Million Series A to Develop the Future of Precision Cancer Care
SimBioSys announced today it raised $15 million in Series A funding to accelerate the development and commercialization of its TumorScope software platform. The company’s novel, simulation-based, precision medicine platform enables individualized treatment planning for cancer patients.
This Series A was co-led by Genoa Ventures and Northpond Ventures, with participation from AV8 Ventures, Heritage Medical Group, and Mayo Clinic. Existing investors and founders also participated in this financing round, bringing the company’s total capital raised to $21 million.
Founded in 2018 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, SimBioSys is based at the EnterpriseWorks incubator in the University of Illinois Research Park.
In the first half of 2021, SimBioSys tripled its headcount, bringing in expert clinicians, scientists, and executives from the life sciences industry. SimBioSys is also working in collaboration with 20 leading cancer institutions across the country to run clinical validation studies and recently published results from independent validation performed by prestigious cancer centers, demonstrating over 90 percent accuracy in predicting response to therapy in its first indication of early breast cancer.
“We are honored to have the support of such prestigious and thoughtful investors, validating the novelty and promise of our science and its potential to improve outcomes for millions of patients in the future,” said Tushar Pandey, CEO of SimBioSys.
Despite the crowded landscape of precision medicine, treatment decisions continue to be made based on trial and error, and the resulting uncertainty among clinicians leads to sub-optimal outcomes for patients. SimBioSys aims to individualize care and eliminate uncertainty by assessing response to therapy at the time of treatment planning.
“The rate of innovation in oncology is truly inspiring, but it doesn’t always translate to benefit for most patients”, said Tushar. “SimBioSys firmly believes we can do more with what is currently available while accounting for the rapidly evolving standard of care to ensure all patients have access to precision medicine.”
SimBioSys’ early validation data and approach with standard-of-care data alone provides a glimpse into the future of oncology and drug development. With this new funding, the company now has the resources to move one step closer to delivering on its mission.
“Since meeting Tushar and the SimBioSys team, Genoa Ventures has been excited about the enormous potential for the TumorScope platform to democratize insights for precision medicine in cancer care,” said Vikram Chaudhery, Principal at Genoa Ventures. “For the first time, any hospital, clinic or cancer center can make truly informed decisions in choosing the best treatment protocols for patients, based on the standard pre-existing patient data available, eliminating the need for additional, expensive wet-lab testing.”
Unlike current approaches, SimBioSys’ first-of-its-kind application combines artificial intelligence with biophysical simulations to model the impact of phenomena such as drug delivery, metabolism, and spatial heterogeneity in a comprehensive model using standard-of-care data alone. The results are generated within minutes, enabling physicians to make a well-informed
decision while improving patient experience and shared decision-making. In addition, the technology can support the drug development process across pre-clinical and clinical trial settings.
“Robust clinical and patient-reported data is critical to assess and prescribe the best options of cancer care for patients,” said Andrea Jackson, Director at Northpond Ventures. “The SimBioSys TumorScope virtualizes cancer to simulate – in minutes – a patient’s tumor response to therapies. Simulating response before prescribing treatment is a significant stride in personalized treatment planning. Northpond is grateful to partner with Tushar and the
SimBioSys team on this important work.”
The company’s name, SimBioSys, and logo capture its core scientific approach – Simulating Biological Systems. SimBioSys’ TumorScope virtualizes cancer in 3D and can accurately simulate how a patient’s tumor will respond to a variety of therapies following diagnosis. The new funding will allow SimBioSys to expand its state-of-the-art technology into other solid tumors beyond its current focus on breast cancer. Additionally, the new capital will drive commercialization efforts to bring the technology to patients and the biopharma industry.
Andrea Jackson at Northpond Ventures and Vikram Chaudhery at Genoa Ventures will join the SimBioSys Board of Directors.
About SimBioSys
SimBioSys combines artificial intelligence and biophysical simulations to advance precision medicine in cancer care. The company’s technology virtualizes individual tumors and through biophysical simulations delivers insights on specific traits, such as tumor morphology, drug delivery and metabolism, while simultaneously predicting response to therapy. SimBioSys’ goal is to transform decision making in cancer care by empowering physicians with a better understanding of each patient’s disease. By virtually assessing each patient’s response to treatment, physicians can truly personalize therapy. For more information, visit www.simbiosys.com