Recently, an artificial intelligence biotech startup called Imagene completed an $18.5 million Series A financing. Investors in the round include Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, USC Lawrence Ellison, Translational Medicine Institute director David Augers, and ZebraMedical Vision co-founder Gura.
Rather than relying on full molecular sequencing and analysis, Imagene aims to use only digital images of biopsies to help guide appropriate targeted therapy for cancer patients.
In January 2022, Imagene closed a $3 million seed round led by Blumberg Capital. As of now, Imagene has raised a total of $21.5 million in financing.
Imagene’s financing
Imagene co-founder and CEO Tith Bittan
It is understood that Imagene, founded in 2020 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, focuses on the development of artificial intelligence-based cancer genome detection solutions. The company uses artificial intelligence to detect a wide range of cancer biomarkers directly from biopsy images in real-time for cancer patients. Provide optimal treatment medicines and personalize treatment using patient’s histological data.
The company claims that its artificial intelligence-based deep learning algorithm can screen out the biomarkers needed to guide treatment within 2 minutes by visualizing the patterns proposed by tumor cells that carry different mutations. At this stage, Imagene is planning to recruit participants for clinical trials to identify new biomarker targets and predict response to treatment.
“Today, precision medicine is changing the traditional way of treating cancer, but this is only applicable to about 15% of cancer patients. The scalable technology we developed focuses on providing treatment opportunities for all cancer patients, driving precision medicine to be tailored to individual patient conditions. ,” Imagene co-founder and CEO Teas Bittan said in a statement.
Tith Bittan graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Ben-Gurion Bar Negev University in 2010 and an MBA from Tel Aviv University in 2015. In 2020, he founded Imagene and serves as CEO.
lmagene’s testing process takes less time
It is reported that the solutions developed by Imagene can detect a wide range of biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity, provide better diagnosis for cancer patients, and provide real-time identification of candidates for clinical trials and targeted cancer therapy. For these purposes, Imagene achieves only by using biopsy images.
”For us, although cancer may be a complex disease that is not fully understood at this stage, AI allows us to more clearly analyze all the relevant factors affecting cancer, allowing us to achieve more precise treatment, A personalized treatment strategy that combines therapeutics and diagnostics,” said David Augers.
Notably, Oracle co-founders Larry Ellison and David Augers founded the Institute for Transformative Medicine in 2016 with the aim of sparking innovation, leveraging technology, and advancing patient-centered Interdisciplinary research, and the link between Imagene and Larry Ellison was established through Dr. David Augers.
The technology developed by Imagene relies on genomics and proteomics to better understand the recurrence and resistance mechanisms of specific cancers, help to better stratify patients in clinical trials, and discover new targets for new drugs. “One of the most effective ways to treat cancer is through precision medicine, and our technology allows doctors to receive biopsy information in a very short time and at a low cost,” said Bitan.
