On February 1, 2024 ArteraAI, the developer of multimodal artificial intelligence (MMAI) based predictive and prognostic cancer tests, reported that it has secured an additional $20 million in capital fueled by several prominent large investment funds including Prosperity7 Ventures, Singapore-based global investor EDBI, Walden Catalyst Ventures, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and Trium Ventures, along with investors Navin Chaddha, Rajiv Khemani (AISpace VC), and Andrew & Elliott Tan (A&E Investment LLC) (Press release, Artera, FEB 1, 2024, View Source [SID1234639808]).

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"The infusion of this additional funding is a crucial catalyst, propelling ArteraAI forward in its mission to personalize cancer therapy through AI-enabled predictive and prognostic tests," said Andre Esteva, CEO and Co-Founder of ArteraAI. "We are committed to ushering in the era of precision medicine, and stewarding this investment strategically to aid in our international expansion and commercial growth."

This funding announcement follows closely on the heels of ArteraAI’s recent achievement of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decision on the payment rate for the ArteraAI Prostate Test. The decision helps to ensure broader accessibility to AI-enabled personalized care, benefiting a larger population.

"Investing in ArteraAI wasn’t just a financial decision, but a testament to ArteraAI which is globally revolutionizing patient care," said Abhishek Shukla at Prosperity7 Ventures. "We are thrilled to be part of the journey as ArteraAI continues its mission to provide patients with access to personalized cancer treatment plans."

Less than a year ago, ArteraAI emerged from stealth mode with an initial funding of $90M. Since then, the company has made significant strides, obtaining a Medicare payment rate, growing distribution and establishing a solid foundation for international expansion through strategic global partnerships to continue its research.

"ArteraAI’s AI-driven tests represent a transformative approach to designing tailored cancer care regimens. This offers a glimpse into the future where cancer care is truly personalized, aligning with Singapore’s efforts to digitize healthcare and harness AI to enable precision medicine," said Dr. Jolene Ooi, Senior Principal at EDBI. "We are excited to be part of their growth story and look forward to supporting its foray into Asia."

To learn more about ArteraAI visit Artera.ai.

On February 1, 2024 DELFI Diagnostics, Inc., a developer of accessible blood-based tests that deliver a new way to enhance cancer detection, reported availability of the company’s fragmentome-based research use only (RUO) cancer monitoring assay (Press release, Delfi Diagnostics, FEB 1, 2024, View Source [SID1234639805]). The DELFI-Tumor Fraction (DELFI-TF) assay is a highly sensitive, inexpensive means of noninvasive measurement of tumor burden and assessing treatment response and resistance in patients with advanced cancer.

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Additionally, DELFI announced a new research collaboration with Immunocore Holdings plc (Nasdaq: IMCR) – a commercial-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a novel class of bispecific T cell receptor (TCR) immunotherapies against cancer (ImmTAC molecules) – focused on exploring the use of the DELFI-TF cancer monitoring assay as an early predictor of benefit from treatment with ImmTAC-based therapies.

"The DELFI-TF assay delivers a genome-wide measure of the proportion of cfDNA derived from a tumor and it is highly correlated with the mutant allele fraction (MAF) that is often used to evaluate treatment response and resistance to immunotherapies in advanced cancer patients. Our fragmentome-based assay has numerous advantages as it requires very little plasma, has a low cost of processing, and is not confounded by clonal hematopoiesis or driver mutation switches," said Nicholas C. Dracopoli, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of DELFI. "We are excited that Immunocore will be further exploring the clinical and research potential of the DELFI liquid biopsy platform as a new approach to monitoring treatment response."

The DELFI-TF RUO assay is also being evaluated by additional parties across the pharmaceutical industry for its potential application in advancing other healthcare discoveries, and DELFI anticipates announcing more research collaborations in the near term.

On February 1, 2024 Nuvalent, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUVL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on creating precisely targeted therapies for clinically proven kinase targets in cancer, reported that James Porter, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, and Alexandra Balcom, Chief Financial Officer, will participate in a fireside chat during the Guggenheim Healthcare Talks 6th Annual Biotechnology Conference on Thursday, February 8, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. ET in NYC (Press release, Nuvalent, FEB 1, 2024, View Source [SID1234639804]).

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A live webcast will be available in the Investors section of the company’s website at www.nuvalent.com, and archived for 30 days following the presentation.

On February 1, 2024 NeoPhore Limited, a small molecule neoantigen immuno-oncology company, reported a further extension of £9.6m (approx. USD $12.2m) to its Series B financing round (Press release, NeoPhore, FEB 1, 2024, View Source [SID1234639803]). With participation from its existing syndicate, CPF managed by Sixth Element Capital, Claris Ventures, Astellas Venture Management, 3B Future Health Fund, 2investAG, and the addition of three new investors – NEVA SGR (the venture capital arm of Intesa Sanpaolo banking group), LIFTT (the venture capital focused on deep-tech chaired by Stefano Buono) and Simon Fiduciaria (the fiduciary company of Ersel Group). This extension brings the total raised in Series B financing to £31.1m (approx. USD $39.5m).

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NeoPhore is building a pipeline of small molecule drugs targeting novel proteins across the DNA mismatch repair (‘MMR’) pathway to generate next-generation immuno-oncology therapeutics to improve clinical outcomes for cancer patients. NeoPhore’s first-in-class MMR inhibitors induce neoantigen expression and increase immunogenicity in solid tumours that become exquisitely sensitive to immunotherapy.

2023 was a great year of progress for NeoPhore. At AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)-NCI-EORTC in Boston in October, the first disclosure of lead compound NP1867 was presented. This demonstrated that NP1867 functionally inhibits MMR in cells and elicits COSMIC mutational signatures consistent with MMR-deficient patient samples.

The additional Series B funding will be used to progress NeoPhore’s lead oral program, through early pre-clinical development.

Dr Matthew Baker, Chief Executive Officer of NeoPhore, said: "NeoPhore has made excellent progress throughout 2023. With the support of our committed and new investors, along with our research collaborations with academic institutions that are in place, we remain on track to deliver a candidate drug for our lead PMS2 program by early 2025."

Dr Robert James, Chairman of NeoPhore, said: "Over the past years NeoPhore has made tremendous strides in showing that it is possible to target the MMR pathway with small molecule inhibitors. The recent data the Company has generated and presented at an international conference leads us to believe that NeoPhore’s approach may be profoundly important. We are pleased to welcome three new Italian-based investors to our syndicate as well as further funding from existing investors. Their commitment reflects the potential value of NeoPhore’s approach that exploits the dynamics of cancer neoantigen evolution, through the discovery and design of effective, well-tolerated medicines that will become a key part of the next-generation of cancer immunotherapies. We are very excited about the next stage in the life of the Company."

On February 1, 2024 Biosyngen reported that its latest groundbreaking product, BST02, has been granted Fast Track Designation (FTD) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of all types of liver cancer, including hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma (Press release, BioSyngen, FEB 1, 2024, View Source [SID1234639802]).

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Fast track is a process designed to facilitate development, and accelerate the review of drugs to treat serious or life-threatening conditions and fill an unmet medical need. This designation is anticipated to expedite the advancement of clinical trials and the registration of pharmaceutical products for marketing purposes.

BST02 has received approval from the FDA for Phase I/II clinical trial in October 2023 and has also been approved by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the China National Drug Administration in January, 2024. This marks the first TIL cell therapy drug for liver cancer to progress to the clinical stage globally. Furthermore, another product from Biosyngen, BRG01, was granted fast track designation in July 2023.

Michelle Chen, co-founder and CEO of Biosyngen, expressed gratitude towards the FDA for acknowledging the company’s fourth product. She emphasized the company’s commitment to advancing cell therapy for cancer globally and providing innovative treatment solutions for diverse patient populations. Michelle reiterated Biosyngen’s dedication to leveraging its advanced technology platforms to offer more effective and accessible treatment options for patients worldwide.

BST02, a T cell therapy based on the expansion of the patient’s own tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, falls within the category of adoptive immune cell therapy technology. It holds promise for the treatment of all types of liver cancer, offering new hope for patients. In contrast to traditional TIL therapies, BST02 offers numerous benefits, including the ability to overcome distance constraints due to its cryopreserved form and the reduced need for high doses of interleukin-2.

Biosyngen is dedicated to the R&D of innovative pharmaceutical products aimed at addressing unmet clinical need in oncology. Moving forward, Biosyngen intends to maintain its emphasis on conducting research in this domain for the betterment of patients globally.