INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Lucence Diagnostics, a genomic medicine startup that develops non-invasive tests for cancer screening, announced today that it has raised a
$20 million Series A led by IHH Healthcare, one of the world’s largest integrated private healthcare groups
Other participants included SGInnovate and returning investors Heliconia Capital (a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings), Lim Kaling and Koh Boon
Hwee.The round will be used for scaling Lucence’s labs, hiring and making its products commercially available to more patients in Asia and
North America.The funding will also support two prospective clinical trials
One will focus on its technology’s sensitivity to actionable variables in late-stage cancer patients, while the other will evaluate its
use for early-stage detection in several types of cancer, including lung, colorectal, breast and pancreatic
Lucence is currently designing a study that will involve 100,000 participants to validate its early-stage detection test
It will recruit its first patient in the middle of next year and launch in the United States and Asia.Together with its seed funding, this
round brings Lucence’s total raised so far to $29.2 million.Lucence’s tests are currently used by physicians in Southeast Asia and Hong
Kong, and it plans to expand further in North America and East Asia
Its lab in Singapore has received both CLIA certification and CAP accreditation, which means its tests can be used by doctors and patients
It is also currently building a lab in the Bay Area to decrease turnaround times for patients.Headquartered in Singapore, with offices in
San Francisco, Hong Kong and Suzhou, China, Lucence was founded by CEO Dr
Min-Han Tan, an oncologist, and spun out from Singapore’s Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in 2016
Two years later, it launched LiquidHALLMARK, which the company describes as “the first and only clinical sequencing blood test that
detects both cancer-related genetic mutations and cancer-causing viruses with a single assay” and looks for signs of fourteen types of
The company says LiquidHALLMARK has been used by oncologists for 1,000 patients in Asia so far.Other genomic sequencing startups that have
developed tests that screen for cancer risks and signs include Sanomics, Prenetics, Guardant and Grail
Lucence’s differentiators include its proprietary amplicon-sequencing, which examines specific genomic regions for variations, including
mutations linked to cancer
The company describes its tests as a “Swiss Army knife,” because it can be used for cancer screening, diagnoses, treatment selections
and monitoring.In a statement, Dr
Kelvin Loh, the CEO-designate of IHH Healthcare, said “liquid biopsy is a game-changer in our endeavor to provide cancer treatments with
better, value-driven outcomes through precise treatment selections and more affordable care
Our investment in Lucence will provide IHH patients with better access to this advanced technology.”
