BOSTON, United States — Predicta Biosciences, a precision oncology firm focused on creating advanced diagnostic and therapeutic products, announced it has secured an oversubscribed $5.2 million seed funding round.
The round was led by The Engine Ventures, with participation from Illumina Ventures, Time Boost Capital, the American Cancer Society Bright Edge, and the Oetgen family.
The new capital will be used to expand the company’s team, establish a CLIA lab, and develop the necessary workflow for sequencing and bioinformatics needed to launch its diagnostic platform.
Focus on non-invasive diagnostics
Predicta’s core mission is to bridge the significant diagnostic gap in oncology that impacts clinical trial effectiveness and patient outcomes.
The company is developing a non-invasive diagnostic and monitoring platform to replace painful, invasive, and often insensitive procedures like bone marrow biopsies and FISH tests, which are current standards for blood cancer detection.
These existing tools are over 50 years old and frequently suffer from high failure rates.
Predicta’s initial focus is on multiple myeloma, the second most common blood cancer. The disease develops from two asymptomatic precursors, making early, non-invasive detection crucial for improving patient survival and quality of life.
The company’s first product, GenoPredicta, is designed to provide more complete genomic and algorithmic analysis for risk stratification and treatment optimization compared to current market options.
Currently used for research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the product is slated for commercial launch early next year.
Kate Caves, CEO of Predicta, outlined the company’s dual mission:
“Predicta is passionate about early cancer detection and transforming the patient experience. Our mission is twofold: to deliver non-invasive tests that diagnose cancer in the earliest stages, and develop a one-of-a-kind clinical database that identifies new drug targets and immune signatures,” said Kate Caves, CEO of Predicta.
“For precision medicine to succeed, we need to empower physicians with the tools and knowledge required to make informed decisions and provide the best possible care. Predicta is using blood-based multi-omics to more easily diagnose patients sooner, and enable personalized monitoring and treatment throughout their care journey.”
Founding expertise and future therapeutics
Predicta was founded in 2023 at the Blavatnik Harvard Life Lab Longwood by a team of academic and clinical leaders spanning Harvard Medical School, MIT, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the Broad Institute. The co-founders include Irene Ghobrial, MD, Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, Gad Getz, PhD, and Romanos Sklavenitis-Pistofidis, MD PhD.
Clinical co-founder Kenneth Anderson highlighted the unique capabilities of the diagnostic platform:
“The Predicta team cares deeply about empowering not only physicians, but also patients with detailed information about their unique molecular data, treatment options and monitoring recommendations,” said Kenneth Anderson, clinical co-founder of Predicta.
“In addition to providing more complete information on a patient’s multiple myeloma, our tests evaluate patients’ immune system cells, equipping physicians with the unique and critical ability to determine the likelihood of a patient responding to new immunotherapies like CAR T-cell therapy and Bispecific antibodies.”
Beyond diagnostics, Predicta is compiling extensive genomic and transcriptomic data from treatment timepoints, leveraging AI to mine this growing clinical database for novel target discovery and therapeutics development. The company eventually plans to expand its diagnostic and monitoring platform into lymphoma and autoimmune conditions.
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Ann DeWitt, General Partner at The Engine Ventures and a new Board member, stressed the need for therapeutic innovation: “There’s a massive need for new therapeutic targets in blood cancers, as few cures exist and many existing treatments are highly toxic. Predicta is uniquely positioned to transform both the discovery and development of new therapeutics.
The company stands to make a truly meaningful impact, not only because of its early partnerships and financing, but also because of its incredible team of academic and clinical experts who bring invaluable domain expertise.”
Predicta is actively pursuing additional partnerships with academic medical centers and pharmaceutical companies to drive clinical utility and adoption.
