On February 17, 2021 Micronoma, the first cancer detection biotech company that utilizes signals from the tumor-related microbiome to diagnose cancer at an early stage with liquid biopsy technology, reported the closing of $3.5 million in convertible debt financing (Press release, Micronoma, FEB 17, 2021, View Source [SID1234575167]). The contributions came from existing investor, US-based SymBiosis, LLC, and new European investor, The Seerave Foundation. The investments bring Micronoma’s total amount of funding to $6.5 million since the company’s first seed round six months ago.
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Micronoma decrypts signals from some of the most ancient matter in the world, the microbiome, to detect cancer early, from all genomes. The additional financing will enable Micronoma to complete its validation study on lung cancer prediction, set up CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) operations, establish its go-to-market strategy utilizing its Oncobiota platform, and initiate work on a second cancer target.
"The Seerave Foundation is a strong supporter of efforts enabling personalized cancer treatments. We are confident that the nutrition-microbiome-immune system axis is a significant factor in each patient’s journey," said David Rees, founder of The Seerave Foundation. "Thus, we recognize early diagnosis of cancer-associated microbial DNA as a key element to transforming cancer diagnostics and treatment going forward. We are convinced that the Micronoma platform will complement our other research activities and help in translating scientific innovations for practical applications. We are interested in being able to enhance the standard of care with a more holistic and patient-centric approach. Our ultimate goal is to move from a therapeutic into a preventive setting of personalized medicine which is where Micronoma’s innovation and expertise come into play, to empower physicians with actionable biomarkers."
Micronoma’s promising research was published in Nature last year, showing unique predictive microbial signatures in tissue and blood for most major types of cancer. Accurate, early cancer detection via liquid biopsy remains a challenge that Micronoma may be able to solve through its proprietary Oncobiota platform. Though having the potential to be a pan-cancer diagnostic tool, Micronoma will start with lung cancer, and with this recent funding, move toward pancreatic cancer diagnostics.
"We are grateful for the continued and new support from like-minded organizations that are as dedicated as we are to finding innovative and precise ways to significantly improve early cancer diagnosis," said Sandrine Miller-Montgomery, CEO of Micronoma. "SymBiosis has been an amazing partner and we are so happy to now have Seerave, expanding our support globally. Together, we can expand the limits of care and revolutionize what practitioners and patients have come to understand as status quo. We are all very passionate about bringing this technology to market as quickly and thoroughly as possible."
Each year, there are approximately 18 million new cancer cases worldwide and nine million cancer deaths. It is estimated that with early detection, up to 4 million of those deaths could be prevented every year. The diagnostic implications of microbiome markers in liquid and tissue biopsies are extensive, and Micronoma is prepared to lead the way on helping prevent unnecessary suffering caused by later-stage cancer diagnosis.