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First Ascent Biomedical raises $6M to advance personalized cancer treatments

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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First Ascent Biomedical is a pioneer in personalized cancer treatment. The Miami-based startup is on a mission to transform medical oncology with highly individualized treatment planning technologies that improve patient survival,  offering hope to cancer patients who have exhausted traditional options. 

Today, First Ascent Biomedical announced a $6 million investment from Vidal Duart Enterprises, a private investment firm based in Miami,  with an additional co-investment from Techstars. The company will use the funding to open its first commercial lab in Florida and expand its lab in Erie, Pa. First Ascent has raised $8 million in total, including $580,000 in 2022, Axios reported.

Founded in 2018, the biomedical startup brings tech to forefront, and part of the technology was invented at Florida International University. Its personalized oncology drug predication platform integrates drug testing, DNA/RNA sequencing and AI-guided tumor weakness mapping to test hundreds of FDA-approved drugs against a patient’s unique cancer profile. Then is delivers a highly personalized, actionable plan to a patient’s physician in an average of 10 days, giving patients new avenues for treating their specific cancer profile.

The company points to results that show that First Ascent Biomedical’s platform has significantly improved patient outcomes. Patients treated with decisions guided by the platform demonstrated an 83% greater benefit than those treated with the standard of care of a doctor’s choice, according to the company.

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“As someone who tragically lost my son to cancer, I know the devastating toll this disease takes on families. With this fresh capital, we are not just advancing technology — we are giving patients and their families hope,”  said Jim Foote, co-founder and CEO of First Ascent Biomedical, who began developing the idea for the startup in grad school.

“The funding we have raised is a defining moment for First Ascent Biomedical and for cancer care,” continued Foote, in a statement. “Florida is where our technoVidalogy was invented, so we are excited to open our first commercial lab here as we charge forward in making personalized cancer care widely accessible.”

The platform’s technology was developed by Dr. Noah Berlow, co-founder and CTO who designed the company’s AI framework, and Dr. Diana Azzam, co-founder and scientific advisor who is currently serving as an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at FIU and brings years of cancer research and a wealth of functional precision medicine expertise to the company.

“The work First Ascent Biomedical is doing will have a ripple effect far beyond Florida, giving patients personalized care that improves their chances of survival. We are honored to help bring this vision to life,” said Tina Vidal Duart of Vidal Duart Enterprises.

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Nancy Dahlberg
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