January 19, 2021
OncoHost Secures $8 Million Series B Funding Round to Advance its AI-Powered Precision Oncology Platform
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On a Mission to Match Individual Cancer Patients with the Most Effective Treatment, Investment will Expand Clinical Trials, Support Opening of a US Office and Preparation for Commercial Launch
BINYAMINA, Israel, Jan. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OncoHost, global leader in host response profiling for improved personalized cancer therapy, today announced the completion of a $8 million Series B funding round. The funding will help finance OncoHost's ongoing clinical trials, open a US-based affiliate and prepare for the upcoming launch of PROphet®, the company's machine learning-based Host Response Profiling platform that combines proteomic analysis with AI to predict patient response to immunotherapy, providing clinicians with potential combination strategies to overcome treatment resistance.
The funding round was led by OurCrowd, an investment platform built for accredited investors and institutions to invest in start-ups, early-stage companies and venture funds. They were joined by a group of family offices and private investors.
"As the renowned entrepreneur Marc Andreesen said, 'Software will the eat world,' and OncoHost is proving that software will help eat cancer," said OurCrowd CEO, Jon Medved. "We are excited about leading this important funding round for such a transformational company. OncoHost is demonstrating that smart software can take an already promising technology such as immunotherapy and make it so much smarter."
OncoHost is a clinical stage precision oncology start-up, combining life-science research and advanced machine learning technology to develop personalized strategies for cancer patients. Clinical trials are currently focused on melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and will soon expand to other indications. OncoHost's platform, PROphet®, analyzes proteomic changes in patient blood samples to detect signs of resistance to cancer therapies in real-time, enabling biomarker-guided treatment planning for physicians, target discovery for drug development and, ultimately, improved outcomes for patients.
PROphet® will first be made available to healthcare providers who can use it to help assess how a specific patient may respond to a given treatment. This will aid the oncologist and patient in making informed decisions regarding treatment options, lines of therapy, potential combination treatments, and participation in clinical trials.
"This investment round supports our mission to better predict response to immunotherapy and identify personalized treatment options for cancer patients, as we continue to expand our collaboration with pharma on clinical trials and drug development," said Ofer Sharon, MD, CEO of OncoHost. "Proteomic analysis is allowing us to make great advances in personalized cancer care, and we are grateful to our investors for their support in the midst of this particularly challenging time of a global pandemic. The future of personalized cancer care is no longer a distant reality, but within our reach. We look forward to what 2021 holds for OncoHost."
About OncoHost
OncoHost combines life-science research and advanced machine learning technology to develop personalized strategies to maximize the success of cancer therapy. Utilizing proprietary proteomic analysis, the company aims to understand patients' unique response to therapy and overcome one of the major obstacles in clinical oncology today – resistance to therapy. OncoHost's Host Response Profiling platform (PROphet®) analyzes proteomic changes in blood samples to monitor the dynamics of biological processes induced by the patient (i.e., the host) in response to a given cancer therapy. This proteomic profile is highly predictive of individual patient outcome, thus enabling personalized treatment planning. PROphet® also identifies potential drug targets, advancing the development of novel therapeutic strategies as well as rationally based combination therapies.
For more information, visit http://www.oncohost.com.
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