4baseCare, an Illumina Accelerator backed precision oncology start-up, has raised an investment of USD 2M, led by investors Mount Judi Ventures, growX Ventures, Season Two Ventures, First In Ventures and a few strategic angel investors.
The investor group has a strong understanding of healthcare and technology and focuses on creating social impact through their investments.
4baseCare aims to make precision oncology a standard of care in Asia by increasing the utilisation of genomic tests in oncology and is working towards developing a first of its kind, Indian population specific gene panel that will analyse a large number of genes for cancer-associated mutations to identify optimal treatment options leading to improved outcomes.
With an annual cancer burden of 1.5 M+ across the country, these genomic tests are available to very few patients who can afford such tests. This is because of the current available test which is primarily sourced from foreign companies and are exorbitantly priced. The need of the hour is the development of affordable and indigenous solutions which can benefit more patients.
4baseCare will utilise the funds for expansion of the genomic tests portfolio and for increasing their geographical presence across Asia. Additionally, it will also focus on strengthening its R&D and operations.
Hitesh Goswami CEO, 4baseCare said, “Access to advanced technology, which can help improve treatment and care should be for everyone. Our vision is to leverage on technology to develop affordable solutions to personalise patient care in Oncology”.
Kshitij Rishi, COO 4baseCare said, “With this capital, we will be increasing the affordability of our genomic test portfolio through research and process efficiency. With our comprehensive solutions and global collaborations, we are confident that we will make precision medicine a standard of cancer care in our country”.
Sherif Kottapurath, Managing Partner, MJV and Ex-CTO, Sun Microsystems said, “We are delighted that 4baseCare, with its innovative and life-critical suite in precision oncology, is the second investment by Mount Judi India Growth Fund in the healthcare vertical. We are happy that in this funding round, 4baseCare was able to attract a strong consortium of investors from India and US, which will fuel its growth across and beyond India”.
Manu Rikhye, Partner, growX Ventures said “Cancer is the second most common cause of death in India and 4baseCare is leading the charge to fight it. 4baseCare team is leveraging its deep expertise in genomics to enable timely cancer diagnosis, and help identify the most precise targeted therapies to significantly improve patient outcomes. We look forward to working with this exceptional founding team as they work towards making India healthier”.
Sajan Pillai, CEO and Managing Partner, Season Two Ventures said, “Genomics and other data capabilities are now redefining life sciences. Their quest to make precision oncology more affordable and accessible contributes greatly to the growing biotech space in India and globally, and we are extremely happy to support them in their journey.”