The precision oncology platform is based on research by Duke and Hubrecht Institute faculty and the cash will fund technology development and clinical studies.
Xilis, a US-based cancer analysis technology developer based on research at Duke University and Hubrecht Institute, completed a $70m series A round yesterday backed by Duke’s endowment.
The round was led by Abu Dhabi state-owned Mubadala Capital, and also featured Duke Angel Network as well as GV, a corporate venture capital subsidiary of conglomerate Alphabet.
LSP, Catalio Capital Management, Felicis Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, Pear VC, KdT Ventures and Alix Ventures filled out the investor line-up.
Founded in 2019, Xilis is working on a precision oncology platform designed to help enhance cancer care and drug discovery and development.
It was co-founded by Xiling Shen and David Hsu, researchers at Duke University, together with Hans Clever, a researcher at Hubrecht Institute.
The capital will be used to further develop its MicroOrganoSphere technology and support clinical studies.
Shen said: “Our vision is to transform cancer care in diagnostics and reshape drug development by providing a technology for rapid therapeutic profiling.
“The support provided by these world-class investors is an important milestone for our journey to transform cancer care and dramatically improve patient survival by enabling personalised precision oncology and bringing transformative medicines to patients faster and with higher success rates.”
Felicis Ventures had led a $3m seed round in December 2019, with participation from Liquid 2 Ventures, Pear and 8VC. Pear had already led a pre-seed round of undisclosed size three months earlier.
The company also identified KdT Ventures and Alix Ventures as returning shareholders for the series A round but did not offer further details.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.