Range Biotechnologies – a proteomics-focused biotech company that has developed an innovative translational platform to enable better diagnostics and faster drug development – announced recently that it has received $5.2 million in seed funding led by TechBio-focused ARTIS Ventures with additional participation from Pear VC, Page One Ventures, Civilization Ventures, Pillar, Four Cities Capital, Hawktail, and several others. This funding round will advance the company’s work in high throughput multiplexed protein quantification to enable precision health. ARTIS Ventures Partner Ameena El-Bibany has joined the Board.
Range Bio’s technology enables for the accurate quantification of multiple proteins across many samples simultaneously, providing critical insights into the underlying mechanisms of disease and how they change over time.
Proteomics – the study of proteins in the body – has the potential to improve human health in several ways. For example, proteomic studies are able to help identify which proteins correlate with a certain disease or drug response. And this knowledge can be used to develop new drugs and diagnostics for a wide range of conditions like cardiovascular disease, cancer, COPD, MS, and more. Protein biomarkers can be used in personalized health applications where treatments or diagnoses are tailored to an individual’s specific physiology. Overall, proteomics has the potential to greatly improve our understanding of the human body and help us develop more effective ways to diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases.
The proteomics field to date has largely focused on the discovery of protein biomarkers. And these discoveries have deepened our understanding of the human proteome. But unfortunately, they have not significantly moved the needle on human health in practice. This is partially due to a lack of technologies dedicated to “translational proteomics,” i.e. methods to measure biomarker panels at scale in real-world applications. Many commercial applications of translational proteomics have operating requirements that are more complex than in biomarker discovery; they are often bottlenecked by limitations in throughput, multiplexing, dynamic range, cross-reactivity, etc.
KEY QUOTES:
“Range Biotechnologies understands that the complex interactions across proteins in the human body are key to unlocking the potential of precision medicine and that accurate and scalable quantification is necessary to achieve that vision. Their approach to proteomics solves several existing bottlenecks across multiplexing, dynamic range, and throughput, all of which collectively continue to hold the entire space and the largest protein players back. Range Bio’s tech can enable new paradigms across pharmacodynamics, diagnostics, clinical trials, and health screening, marking a significant impact on healthcare by enabling a comprehensive view of an individual’s health and allowing for personalized treatment options.”
— Ameena El-Bibany, partner at ARTIS Ventures
“We believe that untargeted biomarker discovery must be complemented by scalable targeted quantification to result in tangible impacts on human health. Unlocking translational proteomics will empower researchers across pharmaceutical companies, consumer health, and clinical labs alike with uncompromising protein quantification at scale.”
— Range Biotechnologies’ Co-founder and CTO Nicolo Maganzini
“Existing analytical tools treat molecular measurements like they are static and binary, that at any given time you are either sick or you are not. But molecules in the body are highly dynamic and change in response to our environment, our health, pharmaceuticals, and other factors. At Range Bio, we’re building the molecular infrastructure to elucidate the longitudinal dynamics of human health, enabling a world where healthcare can be personalized, and ultimately switching the paradigm of medicine from being reactive to proactive. With this funding, we will push the boundaries of what is possible in personalized health.”
— Range Biotechnologies’ Co-founder and CEO Brandon Wilson
