Sengine Precision Medicine Inc. boosted its total fundraising to $19 million with the recent closing of a $10 million series A2 led by the Washington Research Foundation with support from Alethea Fulcrum Fund, Vincere Capital Biotech LLC, Bangarang Group and others. The A2 follows on an earlier $5 million raised in the original series A. Sengine’s Paris Test predicts drug responses using a patient’s cancer cells to grow a tumor organoid that replicates the functionality and genomic characteristics of the original tumor, enabling hyper-personalization of cancer treatment.

About 1,500 babies are born each year in the U.S. with microtia, which happens when the external ear is small and not formed properly, but 3Dbio Therapeutics Corp., and the Microtia-Congenital Ear Deformity Institute (MCEDI) of San Antonio have brought to patients a solution that avoids biocompatibility issues seen with existing solutions. The Auri Novo device, a 3D-printed reconstruction of the outer ear that leverages the patient’s own ear cartilage, eliminates the need to harvest rib cartilage or use porous polyethylene in lieu of native cartilage, another indication that the era of personalized medicine is finally in view.

Canada’s federally-funded Digital Technology Supercluster is joining with industry to invest CA$17.8 million (US$13.9 million) in an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technologies program to advance personalized treatment for patients with cancer.

LONDON – New figures underline the devastating effect the pandemic is having on cancer clinical research, with recruitment to U.K. studies falling by 60%. A total of 27,734 patients were recruited in 2020/21, compared to an average of 67,057 in the three years previously. Over those three years, recruitment had been on the rise, going from 61,810 in 2017/18 to 71,709 in 2019/20, according to figures compiled by the Institute of Cancer Research in London.

Although targeted therapies are prescribed on the basis of a patient's molecular makeup, they do not work every time. And in those instances where they do work, they basically stop working every time. In response, researchers have developed a number of systems whose goal it is to predict which drugs will be effective for an individual patients.

PERTH, Australia – Bioinformatic and cell technology company Genieus Genomics Ltd. is using the power of the human genome to build a platform for neurodegenerative diseases to develop diagnostic tests for personalized medicines.

Diagnostics company Sphingotec GmbH is looking to break into the U.S. market with a pair of biomarker assays that could help determine the best treatment for critically ill patients at risk for septic shock. The two assays, which are run on the company’s point-of-care Nexus IB10 immunoassay platform, measure bioactive adrenomedullin (bio-ADM), a hormone that maintains endothelial function; and dipeptidyl peptidase 3 (DPP3), an enzyme that inactivates angiotensin II when released into the blood.

Personalized medicine, also referred to as precision or targeted medicine, continues to have a significant impact on the treatment of diseases, particularly cancer. Over the past decade or so there has been a dramatic surge in research and development investments in this field. According to the Washington-based Personalized Medicine Coalition, there are about 286 such medicines on the market currently, a number that has more than doubled from the 132 that were available in 2016, representing the largest four-year increase since the PMC began tracking personalized therapies back in 2008.

LONDON – Clinical genomics specialist Congenica Ltd. has raised $50 million in a series C round that will enable it to extend beyond its roots in rare disease diagnosis to personalized medicine in cancer, and health and wellness, while expanding its geographical reach.