Karnataka: $27.4 million raised by Mitra Biotech to expand its CANScript services for cancer treatments

Bengaluru: Mitra Biotech Inc. has raised $27.4 million, approximately, Rs. 184 crore, in a series B round of financing led by Sequoia India and Sands Capital Ventures. The two companies are to enjoy board seats in the company. The money raised this time is to be used by the biotech company to expand the reach of its 'CANScript Service'. A service that predicts personal responses to cancer treatments and which reflects a high correlation to actual clinical response.

CANSript service is used to adapt therapies to patient needs and speed drug development.

“These new funds will allow us to enhance our technology and engage in new studies to further demonstrate CANScript’s clinical utility. We will also move forward with our commercial efforts in the United States, as well as emerging and other key markets,” said Mallikarjun Sundaram, President, Co-founder, and Chief Executive of Mitra.

The other strong point of this service is that it speeds up oncology drug discovery and development by matching compounds to their indications of highest impact, said Ian Ratcliffe of Sands Capital.

Cloning the patient’s personal tumour micro environment, including the immune network, selected drug therapies are applied to the tumour and multiple responses measured. The tumour responses are then synthesised by the CANScript algorithm into a single score for seeing efficacy.

Mitra, founded in 2010, though based in Boston, sustains a significant habitation in Bengaluru.

Mitra’s fund raising round this time had RA Capital Management and the existing partners Accel and Tata Capital Innovations Fund also participating.

This round of raising capital also calls for the exit of Series A investors KITVEN and India Innovation Fund.

In October 2013, Tata Capital Innovations Fund along with existing investors- India Innovation Fund and Accel Partners, invested about Rs.40 crore in the company. Rs.30 crore was raised by the company in 2010, from Accel, India Innovation Fund and KITVEN, a government-backed fund.