Issue # 106- $100 Billion Market for Cancer Screening Innovations

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally and accounts for about one-sixth of all deaths. The economic price of cancer is massive—estimated to cost the global economy over $25 trillion over the coming decades. While technological innovations have lowered mortality rates, it is becoming increasingly difficult to further reduce death rates, as much of the low-hanging fruit in cancer care innovation has already been accomplished. 

There has also been a recent, puzzling rise in cancer rates among younger populations. New innovations in cancer screening with liquid biopsy blood tests and image-based detection are likely to result in rising demand for new detection products and make regular multi-cancer screenings a standard part of healthcare.

Since 2020, oncology healthtech startups have raised over $16 billion in VC funding, with the global market size in this sector estimated at around $250 billion. The cancer screening category presents the largest market opportunity, currently valued at $100 billion globally.

A new wave of oncology diagnostics powered by AI is set to disrupt the industry and challenge startups that are not adapting to the latest innovations.

If you’re working in cancer care, we would love to feature you! 

📩 Write to us at – press@femtechindia.com.

• Bengaluru-based Even Healthcare has raised $30 million in a Series A funding round led by Khosla Ventures. The fundraiser also saw participation from Founders Fund, 8VC, and Lachy Groom, among others. 
• Healthify, a health and fitness platform, secured USD 20 million to expand into the US and enhance its AI-driven nutrition and fitness coaching services.

• Epitopea, a Cambridge, UK- and Montreal, Canada-based cancer immunotherapeutics company, raised USD $31M in Pre-Series A funding.
• Oncolens, an Atlanta, GA-based oncology health tech startup, raised $16m in Series A funding.
• Jade Biosciences, a Vancouver, BC, Canada-based biotechnology company dedicated to developing therapies for patients living with autoimmune diseases, extended its financing, bringing the total raised to $95M.
• Alpha-9 Oncology Inc., a Boston, MA- and Vancouver, Canada-based clinical stage company developing radiopharmaceuticals to meaningfully improve the treatment of people living with cancer, raised $175m in Series C financing.

• Doctors blame lifestyle, processed food for the increase in type 2 diabetes among children. Doctors cite increase in body weight as a major reason for increase in type 2 diabetes among children. Recently, experts have been warning against exposing children to “processed foods that are extra sweet” as the country is witnessing an unusual and worrying trend of type 2 diabetes among children. 
• A new AI system can accurately assess the chromosomal status of IVF embryos via time-lapse videos of the embryos and maternal age, data shows.The new system, called BELA, is the latest AI-based platform for assessing whether an embryo has a normal (euploid) or abnormal (aneuploid) number of chromosomes—a key determinant of IVF success.
• Migraine drugs may stop symptoms before headache starts. A U.S. study showed that 65 per cent of participants who took the migraine medication, ubrogepant, reported that they had little to no limitations on their activity
• Weekly insulin is as effective as daily doses. Efsitora, a once-weekly insulin injection, is said to reduce the hassle of taking daily doses of diabetes medications like degludec, along with reducing the probability of hypoglycaemia.
• The 3-in-1 blood pressure pill is more effective than standard care. The GMRx2 pill contains low doses of three blood pressure drugs―telmisartan, amlodipine and indapamide―and is proven to be effective, with 81 percent of a randomly assigned group of 300 adults, getting their blood pressure under control in one month
• Breast cancer is now a risk for every age group. October is observed as the breast cancer awareness month. One of the most important risk factors in the younger age group is genetic”. A recent study revealed a 4.24%  increase in the number of women in the younger age group women (15–34 years) compared with 1.6 and 0.8% in the age groups of 35 to  44 and 45 to 54 years, thereby suggesting a significant increase in breast cancer incidence mainly in the younger age group of patients during the last decade. 
• Loss of sense of smell may cause changes in breathing patterns, study suggests. Anosmia has been previously linked to a wide variety of mental and physical health challenges, ranging from dulled emotions and depression to a shortened lifespan.
• CDC recommends pneumonia vaccine for adults 50 and older. Getting the vaccine earlier could help alleviate racial disparities in pneumonia vaccination efforts, experts say.
• Early puberty may contribute to an increase in breast cancer among younger women. Doctors aren’t clear why there’s been an increase in diagnoses of a specific type of tumour, but hormones are likely a key driver.
• High-intensity exercise appears to play an important role in mitigating feelings of hunger, according to a new small study. Those findings were even more prominent among females. The research, published online on October 24 in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, investigates the complex relationship between exercise, the hormone ghrelin, and perceived hunger.
• A new study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology suggests that prolonged standing may not offer much in the way of health benefits and raise the risk of orthostatic circulatory disease. Australian researchers cast doubt on the benefits of standing and underscored the necessity for daily activity to combat sedentary behaviour.
• A combination of two drugs that can block the growth of cancer cells has shown promising results in women with a form of ovarian cancer that rarely responds to chemotherapy or hormone therapy. Study findings show that in 115 participants with low-grade serous ovarian cancer, 31 per cent saw their tumours shrink or stop growing when taking a combination of avutometinib and defactinib

• Bayer has announced a partnership with deep-tech startup Impli to advance the development of what could become the first real-time hormone monitoring device. The collaboration aims to make fertility treatment more accessible, safer, and more successful while exploring broader applications of hormone monitoring technology.
• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced the winners of its $8 million RADx Tech for Maternal Health Challenge, selecting eight teams from more than 80 submissions to advance postpartum maternal health diagnostics
• DeepHealth has announced its acquisition of UK-based Kheiron Medical Technologies, marking a significant consolidation in the AI-powered breast cancer screening space. The acquisition brings together DeepHealth’s Smart Mammo platform with Kheiron’s Mia (Mammography Intelligent Assessment) suite of solutions.
• Celmatix announced the nomination of its first lead compound in its oral Follicle Stimulating Hormone receptor (FSHR) agonist drug development program. 
• Foresee Pharmaceuticals, a Taiwan and US-based biopharmaceutical company, announced the successful completion of its phase 1 single and multiple ascending dose (SAD/MAD) clinical study in Australia with livemaster (FP-020), its novel, highly selective, oral small-molecule matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP-12) inhibitor. The objective of the study was to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of oral ascending doses of linvemastat (FP-020) in healthy subjects.
• GSK plc announced it is investing £50 million into a major new five-year collaboration with the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals, to accelerate research and development into immune-related diseases. The collaboration, which will be called the Cambridge-GSK Translational Immunology Collaboration (CG-TIC), builds on GSK and Cambridge University’s existing scientific relationship and will aim to find ways to more precisely treat immune-related disease with existing therapies
• Sanofi and CD&R announce a plan to join forces to fuel Opella’s ambitions as a French-headquartered, global consumer healthcare champion. Sanofi and CD&R have entered exclusive negotiations for the potential sale and purchase of a 50% controlling stake in Opella.
• Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, announced new results from a phase 2 clinical study evaluating the investigational combination of islatravir, an investigational nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor.
• Evergreen Theranostics, Inc., a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company, focused on providing additional treatment options for cancer patients, announces opening of its trial of 68Ga-EVG321 for patients with small cell lung cancer in the European Union, after receiving approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA)

• The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has informed all State Pharmacy Councils that the council has initiated continuing education programmes and skill development programmes to improve the skill sets of the pharmacists across the country.
• India and Germany are poised to advance translational research in mental health, pain management, and palliative care. Here NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences) and Heidelberg University, Germany have fostered scientific partnerships in neurosciences with a mission to explore opportunities.

📳 – Quick Reads: 

• Why almonds are a good source of ‘vegetarian protein’: As the ICMR guidelines strictly advise people to stay away from protein supplements, dietitians and experts believe that almonds, particularly among nutritious nuts, are a great source of “vegetarian protein”. 
• Got a Sweet Tooth? Here’s Why Your Risk of Depression, Diabetes, and Stroke May be Higher

See you next Friday, friends 👋
Navneet

[Sign up here to never miss on the latest updates.]