Thrive Earlier Detection, the developer of an early cancer screening blood test invented at JHU, has raised $257m in series B funding.

Thrive Earlier Detection, a US-based cancer screening technology spinout of Johns Hopkins University, collected $257m yesterday in a series B round co-led by Casdin Capital and Section 32. Bain Capital Life Sciences, a subsidiary of private equity firm Bain Capital, also invested, as did Brown Advisory, Driehaus Capital Management, Intermountain Ventures, Janus Henderson Investors, Lux Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, Perceptive Advisors, Rock Spring Capital, Sands Capital and undisclosed investors including clients advised by T Rowe Price Associates. Thrive Earlier Detection is commercialising a blood test called CancerSeek that detects multiple forms of the disease at early stages of progression by distinguishing biomarkers such as circulating tumour DNA – fragments from cancerous cells which roam freely in the patient’s bloodstream. The hope is that CancerSeek could be combined with existing tests to diagnose most cancer subtypes effectively and in asymptomatic patients, enabling treatment before disease progression becomes severe. The funding is set to enable a registrational trial of CancerSeek and will fund partnerships to make its device accessible to patients. Eli Casdin, founder and chief investment officer at Casdin Capital, has joined the board of directors. CancerSeek was co-invented by Bert Vogelstein and Kenneth Kinzler, both professors of oncology and co-directors of the Ludwig Center at Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Nickolas Papadopoulos, professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins Medicine. The trio had previously collaborated on technology commercialised by Johns Hopkins University genome testing spinout Personal Genome Diagnostics. Third Rock Ventures led a $110m series A round for Thrive shortly after the spinout was founded in May 2019, investing alongside BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners – the corporate venturing representative of 33 health insurance providers – and diagnostics services provider Exact Sciences. Section 32, Casdin Capital, Biomatics Capital, Invus, Cowin Venture, Camden Partners and Gamma 3 filled out the series A round together with unnamed backers.

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