News & Insights
Oxford Technology & Innovations EIS Fund (OTIF) invests £350k in Series A funding in Cambridge cancer diagnostics company Biofidelity Ltd
- Biofidelity Ltd is commercialising a novel molecular diagnostic technology that enables oncologists to target the most effective treatment to each individual patient and to monitor patients for response to treatments and recurrence of disease.
- OTIF’s investment was advised by Oxford Investment Consultants LLP and was part of a $12m Series A round led by BlueYard Capital, a Berlin-based venture capital firm.
- This is the second OTIF investment in Biofidelity to date, bringing total funds invested by OTIF in the Company to £435k, in addition to investment in the technology through support of former parent company, Base4 Innovation Ltd.
Oxford Investment Consultants LLP (OIC) is pleased to announce a £350k investment from the Oxford Technology and Innovations EIS Fund (OTIF) into Biofidelity Ltd. Biofidelity’s platform offers great advantages in accurately diagnosing cancers, allowing regular, non-invasive monitoring of patients. The investment is part of a $12m funding round led by BlueYard Capital, a Berlin-based venture capital firm, with additional investment from Agilent Technologies, a global life sciences leader.
Liquid biopsy is the analysis of biomarkers primarily from patient blood samples to diagnose and monitor disease. The nascent technique holds tremendous promise over tissue biopsy, the current standard of care. Biofidelity’s platform 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 appropriate time to many more patients. The technology can be applied to both tissue and blood samples. Straightforward adoption of Biofidelity’s platform on existing infrastructure is expected to greatly increase the number of laboratories able to offer superior cancer diagnostics, expanding the use of liquid biopsy in precision medicine and patient monitoring.
Biofidelity is initially focusing on the diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer with the potential for broad application across the $15 billion cancer market for targeted therapy and patient monitoring.
The Series A funds will be used to accelerate the development and clinical validation of specific tests for treatment selection and patient monitoring in oncology, and to bring these assays rapidly to market through direct sale, partnering and collaboration.
Commenting on the investment, Christopher Hall, Managing Partner of Oxford Investment Consultants LLP said “Biofidelity’s technology has the potential to open the door to precision medicine, making improved outcomes for cancer patients faster, less expensive and more readily available than before. Co-investing alongside BlueYard and Agilent demonstrates OIC’s strong commitment to supporting ground-breaking UK technology companies alongside leading global investors.”
Further information on Biofidelity can be found here