Liquid biopsy startup Freenome Inc., of South San Francisco, reeled in $160 million in series B financing that was led by RA Capital Management and Polaris Partners. The funds are earmarked to advance Freenome's multiomics blood testing platform for early cancer detection and to grow its laboratory and software capabilities. Founded in 2014, Freenome applies machine learning technology to fragments of DNA and RNA, known as freenomes, that are circulating in the blood after being sloughed off by dying cells in the body. The aim is monitor immune system, metabolic and other changes in the body's reaction to malignant cells.

When lung lesions are suspected, surgeons often perform biopsies after reviewing the results of CT scans, but pinpointing the exact location of a cancerous growth can be tricky, leading to mistakes and misdiagnoses. Having a tool that creates a blueprint of the lung, visualizing even its tiniest airways, could reduce the risk of false negatives, as well as unnecessary damage to healthy lung tissue.