Biofidelity raises $12m in Series A financing

Biofidelity raises $12m in Series A financing
to accelerate launch of disruptive cancer diagnostic technology

• Supported by BlueYard Capital, Longwall Ventures and Agilent Technologies
  
  
• Funds to be used to bring technology to market, enabling a dramatic simplification of precision genetic testing to ensure many more cancer patients receive optimal diagnosis and therapy
  
  
• Initial focus on lung cancer, with the potential for broad application across the $15 billion cancer market for targeted therapy and patient monitoring

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, Aug. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biofidelity Ltd, the cancer diagnostics company, today announces the successful completion of a $12m Series A financing. The round was led by BlueYard Capital and backed by experienced investors including Longwall Ventures and Agilent Technologies, a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics. 

Biofidelity's disruptive technology combines fast, affordable, easy to interpret results, in order to dramatically simplify genetic testing while providing all the key benefits of next generation sequencing (NGS). The Company estimates that 95% of cancer patients are currently excluded from NGS due to high cost, complexity, and slow turnaround times. Biofidelity provides clinically actionable data based on ultra-sensitive detection of the markers recommended in cancer treatment guidelines, enabling oncologists to prescribe the right cancer drug at the right time to many more patients. Straightforward adoption on existing infrastructure is expected to greatly increase the number of laboratories able to offer superior cancer diagnostics.

Biofidelity is initially focusing on diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer, with potential across a broad range of cancers as well as applications in the detection of resistance to therapy and disease recurrence.

In January, Biofidelity announced the successful completion of a study to detect key lung cancer mutations in collaboration with Agilent Technologies. The collaboration, using an assay developed by Biofidelity, demonstrated an improvement in sensitivity of 50 times that achieved with current FDA-approved PCR-based diagnostics. This matched the sensitivity of specialised NGS assays, which require error-correction technology, while providing a dramatic simplification of workflows from more than 100 steps to just four. Assays were performed using standard laboratory instrumentation, demonstrating the potential for straightforward adoption of Biofidelity's panels in decentralised testing laboratories around the world.

The Series A funds will be used to accelerate the development and clinical validation of oncology panels for treatment selection and patient monitoring in oncology, and to bring these assays rapidly to market through direct sale, partnering and collaboration.

Ciarán O'Leary, General Partner, BlueYard Capital, commented: "Biofidelity has the true potential to democratize highly accurate cancer diagnostics by empowering clinicians everywhere to positively change patient lives' by providing access to the highest standard of care to every patient, everywhere.

"Biofidelity's unique combination of extremely high sensitivity, fast turn-around times, simplicity and affordability means they can expand the market significantly and reduce reliance on centralized diagnostics that are currently only available to a small fraction of patients."

Dr Barnaby Balmforth, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Biofidelity, said: "Delivering on the promise of precision medicine to improve outcomes for cancer patients relies on clinicians being able to precisely identify actionable genetic markers. Our assays will enable them to make the right decisions regarding treatment and to detect when a cancer has recurred or become resistant to therapy. We are removing the barriers that prevent the vast majority of patients from having access to the high-quality information associated with existing DNA sequencing approaches. Biofidelity's assay is specifically designed to allow easy adoption by laboratories around the world and to enable all cancer patients to receive optimal treatment based on best-in-class information."

Cameron Frayling, co-founder of Biofidelity, added: "With an initial focus on well-established, widely reimbursed markers used in targeted treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, Biofidelity has potential in a broad range of cancers and future applications in routine monitoring of patients for detection of resistance to therapy and disease recurrence."

About Biofidelity
Biofidelity, a private company founded in 2019 in Cambridge, UK, is revolutionising access to best-in-class cancer diagnostics, breaking down the barriers to better screening, monitoring and treatment for all cancer patients. 

Its disruptive diagnostic technology platform will provide oncologists with clinically actionable data based on ultra-sensitive detection of markers recommended in cancer treatment guidelines, enabling them to prescribe the right cancer drug at the right time. It is designed to combine fast and easy-to-interpret results with affordability and straightforward adoption on existing laboratory infrastructure, enabling many more laboratories to offer high quality cancer diagnostics.

Biofidelity is initially focusing on diagnosis of non-small cell lung and colorectal cancer, with potential in a broad range of cancers and medium- to long-term applications in the detection of resistance to therapy and disease recurrence.

For more information, please go to www.biofidelity.com

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