Seattle-based biotech SEngine Precision Medicine has raised a $10 million round.
With the new funding, announced in late July, SEngine has now raised a total of $19 million, according to the company. SEngine, a 2015 spinout of what's now called the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, said it will use the funding to hire employees, grow lab space and explore partnerships, among other initiatives.
“We are very appreciative of our investors support and their recognition of the need for more and better personalized treatments,” SEngine CEO Carla Grandori said in a news release. She added that the company's work has the power "to improve patient outcomes by providing oncologists individual drug effectiveness rankings as well as the innovation of new drugs."
On its website, SEngine has open roles in finance and marketing.
SEngine is developing ways to test the effectiveness of cancer treatments outside of patients' bodies on live tumor cells derived from patients. Its "PARIS Test," as the company calls it, can create drug sensitivity reports for colon, breast, lung, ovarian and pancreatic cancer, according to the company. SEngine is also developing its own cancer-fighting drugs, which haven't yet hit pre-clinical trials, according to the company's website.
The Washington Research Foundation led the $10 million round, while Alethea Fulcrum Fund, Vincere Capital Biotech LLC, Bangarang Group and others participated. Washington Research Foundation has also invested in Woodinville-based battery tech company Group14 Technologies, which raised $400 million in May, and Seattle-based immunotherapy startup Umoja Biopharma, which raised $210 million in June 2021.
“Washington Research Foundation is excited to support SEngine in delivering important advancements in the field of functional precision medicine, especially at this time when patients and oncologists are ever more aware of the value of personalized treatment insights,” Will Canestaro, managing director of the Washington Research Foundation, said in a release. “We have been following the team for many years and have been continually impressed by their ability to develop this technology."
