Freenome Secures $270M Series C To Research Cancer-Detecting Blood Tests

Biotechnology company Freenome announced its largest funding round to date, an oversubscribed $270 million Series C financing, the company said Wednesday.

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The new investment gives Freenome more than $500 million in funding raised since the company’s inception in 2014. Previously, Freenome secured a $160 million Series B round last year, according to Crunchbase data.

The Series C financing was led by new investor Bain Capital Life Sciences and existing investor Perceptive Advisors. They were joined by a group of eight new investors, including Fidelity Management and Research Company, Janus Henderson Investors and Farallon Capital Management. A group of 13 of Freenome’s existing investors also participated in the financing, including RA Capital Management, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates and BrightEdge Ventures.

The company, pioneering a proprietary multiomics platform for early cancer detection with a routine blood draw, said proceeds from the investment will go toward accelerating its PREEMPT CRC clinical trial for a blood test for colorectal cancer screening and precancerous lesion detection. It also is working to advance a portfolio of blood tests for other cancers and continue developing its platform.

PREEMPT CRC is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration registrational study launched in May 2020 to support FDA approval for the first front-line blood test to help the 45 million people in the U.S. who are currently not up to date on colorectal cancer screening guidelines, the company said.

Jeffrey Schwartz, a managing director at Bain Capital Life Sciences, said in a written statement that Freenome’s research in detecting cancer earlier is cutting edge.

“Freenome’s innovative approach to detecting cancer early, when it is most treatable, is on the leading edge of the liquid biopsy field with features that are advanced and differentiated for cancer screening,” he added. “The platform’s ability to detect a range of cancer types is compelling and we look forward to working with the company as it continues its growth.”

Illustration: Li-Anne Dias