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Startup Spotlight By Andrew Matthius
Thrive Earlier Detection Can Make Cancer More Curable
ISaaC KInDE, MD, PhD, Co-FounDER, HEaD oF RESEaRCH anD InnovaTIon and ISaaC Ro, CHIEF FInanCIal oFFICER
detected earlier are easier to treat and more likely to lead to cures. We thought there was enough information to translate their work from the academic lab into the industry.
From their research, how did you get the backing to officially launch this company?
Isaac Ro: Thrive formed in 2019 thanks to a catalytic moment in time where everything from the science, technology, environment in the healthcare system, and the people all came together to
give us what we think is going to be
this breakthrough in cancer. Series A closed concurrent with the launch of
the company at the end of May 2019,
and we were very fortunate for that to
be anchored by Third Rock Ventures, which has been one of the most successful venture capital firms in the biotech arena. The rest of the investor syndicate was
also a who’s who in cancer diagnostics, including Section 32 and Eli Casdin from Casdin Capital, who is also on the board of Exact Sciences, which is another one of our strategic investors. And then Blue Cross Blue Shield Ventures, which is capable of providing us tremendous insight into not only how to build a successful platform, but one that’s successful in getting reimbursement.
The platform you built based on the founders’ early research is CancerSEEK. How does the technology actually work?
Dr. Isaac Kinde: We consider CancerSEEK a multi-analyte test, which means we’re looking for multiple different types of biomarkers. For example, one of the analytes are mutations
in DNA, which looks for alterations in the
If cancer is caught early enough, it can often be effectively treated or even cured. The problem is it is frequently caught after people experience symptoms, which tends to coincide with late-stage, metastatic disease. Thrive Earlier Detection wants to change all of that with a single blood test that can detect multiple types of cancers. In fact, a prototype of the company’s CancerSEEK technology has already shown the ability to detect 65% of cancers prior to clinically evident metastasis in individuals without any history of the disease. PM360 spoke with Isaac Kinde, MD, PhD, Co-founder, Head of Research and Innovation and Isaac Ro, Chief Financial Officer about their plans to revolutionize cancer detection.
PM360: What are the origins for this company?
Dr. Isaac Kinde: Around 2013-2014, a line in the sand was essentially drawn that indicated enough information and technology existed to effectively detect cancers earlier. This
was based off decades of research from the Vogelstein Lab, which was comprised of some of the luminaries of cancer genetics and the initial founders of our company,
Bert Vogelstein, MD, Ken Kinzler, PhD, and Nickolas Papadopoulos, PhD. They were able to identify not just how cancers form, but in parallel, develop methods to actually detect and treat cancers. One of the foundational principles of their research is that cancers
66 pm360 magazine / September 2020