Orakl Oncology Closes $34M to Advance Cancer Prediction
Orakl Oncology raised $34M Series A led by Norrsken VC and Singular to predict cancer trial outcomes with high accuracy.
The big picture: Orakl Oncology, a Paris-based TechBio company combining AI with patient biology, has closed a $34 million Series A funding round. The company claims its AI platform can predict cancer trial outcomes with 90% accuracy, aiming to improve drug development efficiency.
Why it matters:
- High failure rates: Approximately 75% of oncology drug candidates fail during Phase 2 clinical trials, representing a significant bottleneck in bringing new treatments to patients.
- Predictive power: Orakl’s platform seeks to make tumor and patient biology predictable, offering a new approach to identify effective treatments earlier in the development process.
- Industry impact: The company is actively engaging with major pharmaceutical companies and cancer centers, positioning its technology to potentially redefine oncology research and development.
How it works:
- Virtual patients: Orakl creates ‘virtual patients‘ by growing real tumors in the lab and integrating them with extensive medical history and biological data.
- Scaled testing: These virtual patient models are then used to test different drugs at scale, simulating how treatments might perform in real-world clinical settings.
- Accuracy claims: The company reports its platform can predict cancer trial outcomes, including for pancreatic cancer, with up to 90% accuracy, based on preprint data.
The catch: Orakl’s claim of 90% accuracy is based on a preprint and has not yet been independently proven to improve the success rate of new drugs in actual clinical development. Its recent agreement to apply its predictions to four undisclosed Sanofi oncology assets will serve as a critical real-world test. The market is also competitive, with companies like Vivodyne, Xilis, and Sightera developing similar lab-grown tissue and organoid-based approaches for drug discovery.
Key Facts
- Company: Orakl Oncology
- Amount: $34M
- Round: Series A
- Investors: Norrsken VC and Singular (co-lead), InfraVia, Serena, Patient Autonome Fund (Bpifrance), teampact.ventures, Plug and Play, Verve Ventures, Speedinvest, HCVC, Thomas Wolf, Stan Polu, Jacques Boitreaud, Mostafa El Sayed
- Founders: Dr. Fanny Jaulin, Dr. Gustave Ronteix, Dr. Diane-Laure Pagès
- Sector: Oncology AI
- Headquarters: Paris, France
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