On October 27, 2020 Caris Life Sciences, a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, reported that it has raised $310 million in growth capital (Press release, Caris Life Sciences, OCT 27, 2020, View Source [SID1234569172]).

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The financing includes $235 million in equity financing co-led by Highland Capital Management and Coatue, with participation from funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., OrbiMed, Millennium Management, Neuberger Berman, ClearBridge Investments, First Light Asset Management and other undisclosed investors.

The Company also raised $75 million in debt from Sixth Street as an extension to the $150 million in structured debt financing Sixth Street invested in September 2018. Sixth Street also participated in the equity round. Following the conclusion of this financing, Vijay Mohan, Co-founding Partner at Sixth Street, has been appointed to the board of directors.

Caris will dedicate the new capital to fund its continued growth in precision medicine to reinvent cancer care, accelerate innovative product development and pursue new initiatives in both the clinical trial and biopharmaceutical markets.

"Caris puts the patient at the center of everything we do, and focuses on fulfilling the promise of improving patient outcomes across all cancer types worldwide. As tumor profiling becomes standard practice, it’s important that we continue to grow rapidly as we maintain our leadership position," said David D. Halbert, Chairman and CEO of Caris Life Sciences. "We continue to advance our market-leading tumor profiling platform, clinical trial delivery service, grow our clinical and R&D laboratory facilities, expand our biopharmaceutical partnerships and further expand our investments in AI-powered innovation with our Precision Oncology Alliance collaborators. We are thrilled that our new partners share our vision to be the industry-leader in the precision medicine space."

"This financing represents the first significant external equity investment in Caris. We are tremendously proud to partner with a diverse and high-quality syndicate of leading investors with deep domain knowledge in healthcare and technology," said Brian J. Brille, Vice Chairman of Caris Life Sciences.

"We’ve reached an inflection point in the ability to use precision medicine to guide treatment decisions for cancer patients. Caris has built the leading clinically-focused comprehensive tumor profiling platform, providing the broadest coverage of actionable biomarkers, unparalleled physician support, and proprietary molecular signature analytics that will continue to enhance the utility of its testing platform for clinicians," said Nate Burns, Portfolio Manager and Head of Healthcare at Highland Capital Management. "The Company is also leveraging its unique multi-omics capabilities and extensive patient outcomes database to pursue compelling new pipeline opportunities including high-sensitivity liquid biopsy diagnostics and novel drug-target identification partnerships. We look forward to working with Caris and are excited about the tremendous growth opportunity ahead."

"By growing its platform, increasing its research and testing capacity, and strengthening its client partnerships, Caris has steadily advanced its position as the leading tumor profiling company," said Vijay Mohan, Co-founding Partner at Sixth Street. "We are proud to continue to support Mr. Halbert, Mr. Brille and the entire Caris team on their mission to help physicians and cancer patients make more personalized and precise treatment decisions. We look forward to our board engagement as Caris keeps leading as an innovator in precision medicine."