Sequoia backs cancer treatment startup OncoStem with $6 million - The Times of India

OncoStem Diagnostics, an oncology-focused startup offering personalized cancer treatment, has raised $6 million from Silicon Valley heavyweight investor Sequoia India. The financing round saw the participation of its existing investor Artiman Ventures which has so far pumped $3 million in multiple tranches since the company was founded. Founded in 2011, OncoStem will put the funds in R&D to develop new products as well as expand its operations go deeper into Asia and Europe.At present, the lead product of the company CanAssist-Breast claims to help around 50% of breast cancer patients to avoid severe side-effects of unnecessary chemotherapy, and improve their quality of life. It is present in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh currently. "We will allocate the new capital to expand our presence in Asia firstly and then look into markets like Europe, Middle East etc. While expansion is a focus point, we will invest in our R&D so that we can come up with new products to follow up with our lead product. We aim to develop innovative and cost-effective tests that will help predict and assess the risk of recurrence in cancer patients, thus providing doctors with an actionable blueprint for personalised treatments,” said Manjiri Bakre, founder and CEO, OncoStem Diagnostics.While patients can reach out to the Bengaluru-based startup directly, OncoStem also works with hospitals to develop its distribution network.“OncoStem is filling a critical need gap and helping thousands of cancer patients from severe chemotherapy, its associated toxic effects and the costs involved with it. The technology and pricing can fundamentally change patient's access to such cutting edge tests, which have been prohibitively expensive in most markets globally so far," said Anjana Sasidharan, principal, Sequoia India.