Caris Life Sciences – a next-generation AI TechBio company and precision medicine pioneer – announced that the company has closed a growth capital funding round of $168 million. With this round of funding, Caris has raised $1.86 billion in capital since 2018.
Braidwell, a leading life science-focused investment firm and an existing investor, led the funding with participation from new investors Perceptive Advisors, Woodline and Ghisallo, and with additional new investors. Several existing investors are also participating in the round including Millennium Management and First Light Asset Management.
After receiving FDA approval, Caris also recently launched MI Cancer Seek, the first and only simultaneous Whole Exome and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing-based assay with FDA-approved CDx indications for molecular profiling of solid tumors for adult and pediatric patients. And the organization commercially launched Caris Assure for therapy selection in 2024.
This minimally invasive and blood-based assay utilizes a novel circulating Nucleic Acid Sequencing (cNAS) approach with Whole Exome and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing to analyze cell-free DNA and RNA from plasma, and genomic DNA and messenger RNA from circulating white blood cells to distinguish somatic tumor, incidental clonal hematopoiesis and incidental germline variants.
KEY QUOTES:
“This financing includes participation by some of the most knowledgeable healthcare investors with deep domain expertise and appreciation of the Caris platform and opportunity. We are proud to partner with our high-quality and diverse investor syndicate, which shares our mission to improve patient outcomes.”
- Brian J. Brille, Vice Chairman and EVP of Caris
“Caris puts the patient at the center of everything we do. This raise will help us bring our market-leading science and technologies to as many patients as possible and further our goal of revolutionizing precision medicine. We plan to unlock the full potential of precision medicine by comprehensively interrogating cancer at the molecular level and enabling the delivery of transformative applications of molecular science.”
- David D. Halbert, Chairman, Founder and CEO of Caris
“We are pleased to continue our relationship with Caris, and we believe Caris is well-positioned as a precision medicine leader in this dynamic sector. Caris has continued to advance its position among physicians, patients and biopharma partners as a trusted provider, molecular science leader and innovator.”
- Narendra Nayak, Braidwell Partner
