Adela, a Foster City, CA-based company which specializes in blood testing for minimal residual disease monitoring and early cancer detection, raised $48M in funding.
The round saw participation from F-Prime Capital, OrbiMed, Deerfield Management, Decheng Capital, Labcorp and RA Capital Management.
The company intends to use the funds to advance its technology platform and commercialize its first product for MRD monitoring, while further developing a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) product.
Adela is developing technology to accelerate the diagnosis and improve the management of cancer through blood tests for minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring and multi-cancer early detection (MCED). Its genome-wide methylome enrichment platform captures extensive, biologically-relevant genomic information to optimaze test performance and improve treatment decisions. The company’s platform specifically isolates the information-rich (methylated) regions of the genome through a high-affinity enrichment process, enabling it to capture and preserve more genomic material for sequencing compared to other platforms that use enzymatic or chemical treatment (bisulfite conversion). This comprehensive view of the methylome significantly increases the opportunities for Adela’s products to detect cancer signals in the blood compared to approaches that target a smaller set of genomic regions. It also enables enhanced prognostic and predictive abilities, as well as dynamic monitoring in patients over time.
In addition, the company announced that Lisa Alderson will join Adela as interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO), succeeding Dr. Scott Bratman. Dr. Bratman will continue to serve as a member of Adela’s Board of Directors and as President. Ms. Alderson, a seasoned leader and operator who brings over 20 years of experience building early-stage companies at the intersection of technology and healthcare, has served on Adela’s Board of Directors since early 2022. She previously co-founded and served as the CEO of Genome Medical, a genomic care delivery company enabling broad-based access to genomic medicine. In addition, Alderson served as the Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of Invitae, and was also part of the start-up team at Genomic Health.
The platform was originally developed by Adela’s Chief Scientific Officer, Daniel De Carvalho, Ph.D., at University Health Network’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, in collaboration with investigators at Sinai Health System.
FinSMEs
26/09/2023