OncoStem Diagnostics secures $6 Mn from Sequoia Capital

Bengaluru-based OncoStem Diagnostics, an oncology-focused startup, has raised $6 million from Sequoia Capital India Advisors, according to a Mint report.

OncoStem plans to pump-in the funding into research and development efforts. It also aims to develop effective tests for oral, brain and colon cancer and automate these tests.

The company also plans to expand its presence in India and beyond, introducing tests in new markets like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and Singapore.

“There are no affordable tests in India to accurately predict the risk of cancer recurrence. 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 personalized treatments,” said Manjiri Bakre, Founder and CEO, OncoStem.

The startup has raised a total of $9 million of funding till now. In 2011, it raised its first funding from California-based venture capital firm Artiman Ventures, which invested $3 million in multiple tranches.

Founded by Manjiri Bakre in 2011, OncoStem is focused on developing innovative multimarker prognostic & predictive tests to enable personalized treatment planning for patients with cancer.

Currently, the company is focused on breast cancer recurrence detection.

In diagnostics and research, there are other startups such as Mapmygenome, Xcelris, SciGenom, Ganit Labs Bio-IT center and Xcode Life sciences which are offering its contribution to this segment.

In the past few years, the healthcare sector has attracted the interest of investors; Sequoia Capital has been one of the active investors in the sector.

According to Entrackr's research, this year alone, healthcare received a total funding of around $290 million.

Last month, Sequoia Capital led a $30-million investment round in Bengaluru-based genomics diagnostics and research firm MedGenome Labs. 

Besides, Sequoia is also an investor in Practo Technologies Pvt and has also invested in several hospital chains such as ASG Eye Hospitals, Innovcare Lifesciences, Cloud Nine and Vasan Health Care.