Caris Life Sciences has collected $168 million in new funding to support the growth of its precision medicine platforms, following the FDA’s approval of its multi-cancer companion diagnostic test last fall.
The financing was led by returning investor Braidwell, with additional backing from Perceptive Advisors, Woodline, Ghisallo, Millennium Management and First Light Asset Management, among others. The round pushes Caris’ total haul to $1.86 billion raised since 2018.
“We are pleased to continue our relationship with Caris, and we believe Caris is well-positioned as a precision medicine leader in this dynamic sector,” Braidwell Partner Narendra Nayak said in a statement. “Caris has continued to advance its position among physicians, patients and biopharma partners as a trusted provider, molecular science leader and innovator.”
The company’s MI Cancer Seek assay, greenlit by the FDA in November, examines 228 genes for single nucleotide variants plus insertions and deletions, as well as the cancer’s microsatellite instability status and tumor mutational burden, using both whole exome and whole transcriptome sequencing.
This allows it to be used to find eligible patients for targeted treatments, such as Novartis’ Piqray (alpelisib) in breast cancers carrying a PIK3CA mutation; Amgen’s Vectibix (panitumumab) in wild-type KRAS and NRAS colorectal cancer; and a combination regimen for BRAF V600E-positive colorectal cancer with Pfizer’s Braftovi (encorafenib) and Eli Lilly’s Erbitux (cetuximab).
It also covers Novartis’ Mekinist (trametinib) in melanoma, as well as other BRAF inhibitors and BRAF/MEK combination therapies for the skin cancer. Finally, in non-small cell lung cancer with specific EGFR mutations, MI Cancer Seek can be paired with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
Last year, the company also launched the Caris Assure plasma blood test for cancer therapy selection, which traces back genetic mutations to their origin. Caris has said that, without the proper investigation of certain variants, oncologists may prescribe treatments based on mutations that do not, in fact, come from the tumor.
“This raise will help us bring our market-leading science and technologies to as many patients as possible and further our goal of revolutionizing precision medicine,” said Caris founder and CEO David Halbert. “We plan to unlock the full potential of precision medicine by comprehensively interrogating cancer at the molecular level and enabling the delivery of transformative applications of molecular science.”