NC-XILIS-INC
Xilis, Inc., a pioneering biotechnology company developing its MicroOrganoSphere™ (MOS™) technology to guide precision therapy for cancer patients and accelerate drug discovery and development, has closed an extension of over US$19 million to its Series A financing round, bringing the total amount raised to over US$89 million. New investor FPV Ventures led the extension, with participation from fellow new investor Alexandria Venture Investments and existing investors EQT Life Sciences, Mubadala Capital Management, Pear Ventures, GV (formerly Google Ventures), the Duke Angel Network, Catalio Capital Management, Two Sigma Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Alix Ventures and other strategic partners.
“Despite unprecedented market conditions in the biotech sector, we raised this extension at a step-up valuation and from several of the most reputable global investors. Our investors are strongly encouraged by the progress we have made in building diagnostic programs that predict patient response and achieving significant traction in partnered drug discovery and development,” said Xiling Shen, PhD, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Xilis. “Our MOS technology is the first end-to-end, high-throughput patient-derived model drug discovery platform to identify drug candidates with a high probability of clinical success.”
The company will use the Series A funding to advance its proprietary MOS platform. This innovative MOS technology is the first truly scalable patient-derived model that recapitulates the tumor microenvironment and immune interactions necessary for next-generation immuno-oncology and cell therapy drug discovery. In addition, the MOS platform can be applied in a clinical setting to aid clinicians to make precision oncology treatment decisions, identifying treatments that lead to the best response for each patient.
“Xilis has pushed forward and achieved meaningful scientific breakthroughs that will change the way cancer drugs are being discovered and how patients are being selected to achieve the most optimal response – realizing the goal of personalized precision oncology,” said Wesley Chan, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of FPV Ventures. “With support from a world-class investor consortium, Xilis is set to continue its efforts in clinical diagnostics and accelerate the company’s growth by expanding its MOS technology into biopharma R&D and drug development.”
Recently, the company announced its participation in the Netherlands-based Oncode-PACT Consortium to accelerate the development of cancer drugs and was selected as the cover article/story in the June issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell highlighting its MOS technology and application in precision oncology.
"Xilis' innovative MOS technology can enable unlocking the full potential of patient-derived microtumors by accelerating their use both in the clinic and for drug discovery and development," said John de Koning, Partner at EQT Life Sciences. "Patients will benefit greatly from Xilis’ precision oncology treatment decisions by avoiding time spent on treatment cycles that are ineffective, and instead, receive therapies with the greatest potential of success quickly and efficiently."
About Xilis
Based in Durham, North Carolina, Xilis, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing a precision oncology platform that guides treatment decisions for oncologists to improve cancer care outcomes for patients and enables drug discovery and development with pharmaceutical companies. Xilis’ proprietary MicroOrganoSphere™ (MOS) technology consists of miniature patient tumors that capture the full microenvironment and heterogeneity and provides an automated and scalable solution. Using MOS and AI-driven algorithms, Xilis is developing a Xilis Response Score™ for the clinic, enabling oncologists to make informed and timely treatment decisions. Additionally, the MOS technology is speeding up the discovery and clinical development of new drug candidates.
To learn more about Xilis, visit our website at Xilis.com or follow us on LinkedIn .
About FPV
FPV is a new $450m fund focused on backing and serving mission-driven founders throughout their entire journey. Founded by Wesley Chan (Founder of Google Analytics and Google Voice) and Pegah Ebrahimi (former COO of Morgan Stanley Tech Banking and COO of Cisco Collaboration), the firm has backed well-known, high-impact startups including Canva, Flexport, Guild Education, Xilis, and Manifold Bio.
About EQT Life Sciences
EQT Life Sciences was formed in 2022 following an integration of LSP, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm, into the EQT platform. As LSP, the firm raised over EUR 3.0 billion (USD 3.5 billion) and supported the growth of more than 150 companies since it started to invest over 30 years ago. With a dedicated team of highly experienced investment professionals, coming from backgrounds in medicine, science, business, and finance, EQT Life Sciences backs the smartest inventors who have ideas that could truly make a difference for patients.
The team combines deep sector knowledge, analytical skills, and investment experience to provide the added value that inventors seek. EQT Life Sciences’ broad life sciences and healthcare network is highly complementary to EQT’s global healthcare sector franchise and makes EQT an even better and more innovative healthcare investor. More info: www.eqtgroup.com/lifesciences
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