SUNY Downstate spinout Concarlo is working on tests to establish the suitability of breast cancer patients for a therapy known as CDK4 inhibitor treatment.

Concarlo, a US-based cancer diagnostics spinout from SUNY Downstate Medical Center, part of State University of New York, has closed a $1m seed round featuring Accelerate NY Seed Fund and unnamed private investors.

Concarlo is developing a diagnostic test to establish whether breast cancer patients are eligible for CDK4 inhibitor treatment. The spinout is also working on a drug, called IpY, that would help overcome CDK4 resistance during therapy.

CDK inhibitors work by stopping the overproliferation of cancer cells from. The first drug exploiting CDK4/6, palbociclib, was approved by US regulator Food and Drug Administration in 2015.

The spinout is commercialising research conducted by founder Stacy Blain, an associate professor in Downstate’s Pediatric and Cell Biology department.

Concarlo previously raised $450,000 from undisclosed investors in March 2017, according to a securities filing. It previously received support from Suny’s Downstate Biotechnology Incubator and participated in the New York state-backed Start-Up NY accelerator.

Wayne Riley, president of Suny Downstate, said: “Dr Blain’s research programs help us understand the signals related to how certain cells are regulated and how they contribute to cancer progression.

“The diagnostic test being developed at Concarlo will help target appropriate therapies and reduce costs – an issue pertinent to our patients’ care.”