Orakl Oncology, a precision oncology start-up,today announces that it has raised €3 million to develop its techbio platform that integrates best-in-class biology with real-world patient data at scale to accurately model tumors and accelerate oncology drug development.
A major challenge in oncology is that drug candidates meet patients too late in the development process. This leads to a 96% failure rate in clinical trials and missed treatment opportunities for cancer patients.1
The future of cancer treatment and drug development relies on recognizing that each tumor is different. In response to this unmet need, Orakl Oncology is combining cell biology, engineering and machine learning to build unique tumor avatars for each individual cancer patient that can mimic real-life responses to drugs.
Orakl Oncology's growing collection of avatars captures the complexity and heterogeneity of cancer at the population scale, helping pharma and biotech companies to identify new therapeutic targets or predictive biomarkers and increase clinical trial success rates.
Dr. Fanny Jaulin, Orakl Oncology CEO Co-Founder, commented, "Our ambition is to become a world-leading techbio platform leveraging the smartest collection of tumor avatars to transform oncology drug development and bring faster, smarter and more cost-effective treatments to patients. We are delighted with the result of this oversubscribed fundraising round, and we are very grateful to all our investors for their support."
Launched in 2023 as a spin-out from the Gustave Roussy Institute by co-founders Fanny Jaulin, Diane-Laure Pagès and Gustave Ronteix, Orakl Oncology is targeting the global oncology market, with an initial focus on colorectal and pancreatic cancers the second leading-cause of cancer deaths worldwide.2
Prof. Fabrice Barlesi, General Director of Gustave Roussy, commented, "We are very proud of Gustave-Roussy's spin-out, Orakl Oncology. They aim to disrupt precision oncology by leveraging major academic and pharma partnerships to accelerate drug development, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes."
The funding will be used to launch the company's wet and dry lab capabilities and to hire several key team members, including a Senior Oncology Scientist, Organoid Scientists, a Head of Lab, an Automation Engineer and an AI Research Scientist. This will enable Orakl Oncology to execute its first contracts with pharma and biotech partners.
The investment round was led by Speedinvest with additional investment from HCVC and Verve Ventures.
Andrea Zitna, Partner at Speedinvest, commented, "Orakl's co-founders have a powerful mix of scientific credentials, ambitious vision and entrepreneurial drive. We were impressed by the company's dry and wet lab techniques, the quality of their biobank and the scope of their exclusive relationship with Gustave Roussy. We're thrilled to be on this journey with them!"
Xavier Mesnier, Principal at Verve Ventures, commented, "Having an accurate and scalable representation of biology and heterogeneity in the patient population is key to advancing drug discovery. Orakl's tumor avatar platform delivers this at scale by combining patient samples with automation and machine learning."
Alexis Houssou, Managing Partner at HCVC, commented, "We're really excited to be supporting Orakl on their mission to accelerate the development of patient-specific tumor therapies. We believe in breakthrough solutions that combine biology, data, and AI and we're thrilled to be a part of Orakl's journey."
Notes to Editors
About Orakl Oncology
Orakl Oncology leverages tumor avatars that combine best-in-class biology with high-quality clinical and molecular data at scale. Our techbio platform enables oncology players to identify relevant targets and deliver better drugs, faster. As a spin-out from the Gustave Roussy Institute, the world's 3rd best cancer center, Orakl Oncology was co-founded by a team of seasoned experts with decades of international experience in cancer cell biology and engineering. Learn more at: www.orakl-oncology.com
References:
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1201162/clinical-trial-success-rates-by-therapeutic-area/statisticContainer
- https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/colorectal-cancer
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231003007646/en/
Contacts:
Orakl Oncology
Fanny Jaulin, CEO and Co-Founder
E: fanny.jaulin@orakl-oncology.com
W: https://www.orakl-oncology.com/
Media Enquiries
Sciad Communications
Sophie Protheroe
T: +44 (0)20 3405 7892
E: pressteam@sciad.com
