MEDiC Life Sciences, a prominent functional genomics startup in Silicon Valley, has announced a $5M strategic investment from LG and Hanmi Pharmaceutical. This funding precedes MEDiC’s upcoming Series-A round later this year. Previously, the company raised $8M in a Seed round led by investors such as Illumina Accelerator and Top Harvest Capital. The new capital will help accelerate the adoption of MEDiC’s innovative cancer biomarker discovery technology, enhance business development, and support drug discovery initiatives.
MEDiC Life Sciences collaborates with major pharmaceutical companies, including Bristol Myers Squibb and Hanmi, to enhance their cancer drug pipelines through its innovative cancer biomarker and target discovery solutions. Central to MEDiC’s approach is the MCAT™ platform, a next-generation functional genomics system that assesses millions of gene-to-drug interactions to identify Synthetic Lethality Signature (SLS™) biomarkers. These biomarkers consist of multiple genetic mutations that, when combined with a cancer drug, significantly boost patient response rates. By utilizing SLS™ biomarkers, MEDiC not only improves drug efficacy but also broadens the market potential of cancer therapies by identifying multiple prevalent biomarkers within patient populations.
This groundbreaking strategy transforms existing cancer drugs into synthetic lethal therapeutics, offering distinct advantages over conventional treatments. MEDiC plans to use the recent funding to partner with pharmaceutical companies struggling to maximize the effectiveness and marketability of their cancer drug assets, as well as to pursue clinical validation of its SLS™ approach through collaborations.
A representative from LG, which led the investment, stated, “As cancer drug development faces high failure rates and rising costs, MEDiC’s approach has the potential to reverse this trend. We recognize the value of MEDiC’s data-driven strategy in addressing critical issues in cancer drug development. Their platform generates high-quality experimental data at scale, bridging AI and biotechnology.”
A representative from Hanmi added, “MEDiC’s innovative technology is creating new opportunities for novel cancer therapeutics. With MEDiC and its MCAT™ platform, we aim to strengthen our anti-cancer portfolio and enhance clinical efficacy, ultimately improving success rates in clinical trials. We look forward to collaborating on clinical validation of SLS™ biomarkers to provide patients with more effective treatment options.”
Kyuho Han, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of MEDiC, remarked, “This investment from LG and Hanmi, particularly in today’s challenging global climate, is a strong endorsement of our technology. It will accelerate our solutions’ adoption among pharmaceutical partners and bring us closer to clinical validation of SLS™ biomarkers, supporting our early drug discovery efforts for novel targets identified through our platform.”
Founded by Stanford alumni Kyuho Han and Hong-Pyo Lee, MEDiC specializes in a proprietary functional genomics platform that employs 3D tumor models to identify optimal gene targets and biomarkers for cancer treatment. This 3D model approach improves the accuracy and translatability of functional genomics, positioning MEDiC as a leader in discovering novel cancer targets and biomarkers for solid tumors. The company’s unique methodology has already attracted high-profile partners seeking new biomarkers and targets for cancer drug development.
About MEDiC Life Sciences
MEDiC Life Sciences utilizes its MCAT™ platform to discover new therapeutic targets and biomarkers for solid cancers. In addition to developing its own drug programs, the company provides novel targets and biomarkers for solid tumor indications pursued by its partners. Founded in 2020, MEDiC emerged from Stanford University’s SPARK program and is backed by various financial and strategic investors, including LG, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, and Illumina Accelerator.
