Mercy BioAnalytics has closed a $59 million Series B financing round to advance its extracellular vesicle-based liquid biopsies for early cancer detection. The round was co-led by Novalis and Sozo Ventures, with participation from Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund, American Cancer Society BrightEdge and iSelect Fund.
The U.S.-based company also secured investment from funds focused on women’s health including Portfolia, Avestria Ventures, and Mindshift Capital, along with strategic investors Hologic, Bruker Scientific, and Labcorp.
Mercy BioAnalytics specializes in blood-based cancer screening tests, with initial focus on ovarian and lung cancers. The company’s Mercy Halo ovarian cancer screening test is designed to detect ovarian cancer at earlier, more treatable stages, particularly targeting pre-clinical high grade serous ovarian carcinoma in post-menopausal women.
“This financing accelerates our efforts to bring transformative early cancer detection tests to patients and providers,” said Dawn Mattoon, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Mercy. “We are grateful for the support of our investors and proud to partner with those who share our mission to save lives and relieve suffering through the early detection of cancer.”
The funding will support commercialization of the company’s ovarian cancer test portfolio and enable expansion into multi-cancer and lung cancer screening tests. Ovarian cancer represents the most lethal gynecological cancer, typically remaining undetected until advanced stages when treatment options are limited.
According to company data, the Mercy Halo ovarian cancer screening test demonstrates high sensitivity and specificity for detecting pre-clinical ovarian carcinoma, based on blinded evaluation of samples from a randomized controlled trial.
The technology platform utilizes biomarker co-localization to analyze blood-based extracellular vesicles that carry cancer signatures from their cells of origin. This approach aims to identify early-stage cancers when they are most amenable to curative therapy.
“We believe Mercy is building one of the most promising early detection platforms in oncology,” said Paul Meister, Partner at Novalis. “Their technology addresses a critical gap in current cancer screening, and we’re excited to support the team as they continue to deliver on critical regulatory, clinical, and commercial milestones.”
The company has also added Rob Freelen, Managing Director at Sozo Ventures, to its Board of Directors. Freelen brings experience as an entrepreneur and former Silicon Valley Bank executive to the growing company.
Mercy BioAnalytics focuses on cancers with particularly poor prognosis when detected late. Lung cancer, the leading cancer killer globally, causes more deaths than breast and prostate cancers combined, while ovarian cancer’s late-stage detection contributes to its high mortality rate.
