CellMax Life Raises $14M in Venture Funding, Launches Precision Cancer Testing Company for Early Detection & Optimal Management of Cancer
Personalized Cancer Blood Biomarker Technology Platform Shifts Cancer Treatment to more Manageable Early Stages
Sunnyvale, CA, July 26, 2016 – CellMax Life, Inc. today announced $9M in series A-1 venture funding, and formally introduced itself as a precision cancer blood-testing company providing comprehensive, personalized multi-biomarker technology platforms. The company will fundamentally transform cancer care away from expensive, intractable late-stages to early, more treatable stages.
With a comprehensive portfolio of blood tests based on its proprietary, clinically proven rare-cell and genomic technology platforms, CellMax Life’s mission is to dramatically reduce cancer mortality by making affordable risk-assessment, screening and targeted therapy selection easily accessible globally to everyone. The company’s next generation liquid biopsy includes both Circulating Tumor DNA and Circulating Tumor Cells, for optimal personalized cancer treatment with immediate high clinical impact.
$9M in Series A-1 Venture Funding, Brings Total Funding to $14M
The company also announced today that it has received $9 Million in series A-1 venture financing for scaling commercial operations of its unique cancer blood test product portfolio, bringing its total venture investment to date to $14 Million.
The $9M in funding was led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Artiman and several Taiwanese venture investors who are committed to making a global impact, including Stan Shih, founder, and honorable chairman of Acer, Inc.
“After several years of research and clinical testing, CellMax Life has developed a range of technologies to detect multiple cancer biomarkers in blood,” stated Dr. Dave Lawrence, Advisor, Artiman Ventures, and former chairman & CEO of the world’s largest HMO, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals. “CellMax Life’s clinically-proven blood test portfolio is effective across the cancer care spectrum, and especially so for early cancer detection.”
Stan Shih stated, “Over half of the cancer deaths worldwide occur in Asia, and the number is increasing. This serious problem cannot be solved with traditional, expensive cancer drugs alone. We invested in CellMax Life because with their breakthrough proven early detection CMx platform, they are leading a paradigm shift in cancer detection that will address the cancer in Asia cost-effectively and at scale.”
The company was founded in 2012, developing new technology as well as utilizing technology under development since 2007. The new $9M in funding is being used for continued product development, ongoing clinical trials, and commercialization of the full range of blood tests, including genetic cancer risk detection, and early cancer detection for colorectal and other cancers.
Liquid Biopsy for Optimal Personalized Cancer Treatment
“We founded CellMax Life to transform how cancer is identified and managed in ways never before possible. Early detection is the best defense against this asymptomatic disease — when treatment costs are low and survival rates are high,” said Atul Sharan, co-founder and CEO. “With our accessible and accurate cancer blood tests, we are able to bring early, non-invasive cancer detection to the broadest population possible, enabling individuals to take control of their own health.”
In a separate announcement today, CellMax Life has announced its first product, CellMax CRC-Protect, a clinically proven, multi-biomarker blood test for early detection of colorectal cancer.
About CellMax Life
CellMax Life, Inc. is a precision cancer blood-testing company providing comprehensive, personalized multi-biomarker technology platforms for genetic cancer risk assessment, early detection and personalized treatment of cancer. CellMax Life’s flagship product is CellMax CRC-Protect, a multi-biomarker blood test for early detection of colorectal cancer, which is currently marketed in Taiwan. For more information, please visit www.cellmaxlife.com, tw.cellmaxlife.com, or call +1 650-564-3905 (U.S.), or (+886) 0800-555-885 (Taiwan). Offices are at: 1271 Oakmead Parkway, Sunnyvale, CA 94085 and 18F-1 Park Street, Nangkang, Taipei City.
CellMax Life Announces CellMax CRC-Protect, a Multi-Biomarker Blood Test Clinically-Proven For Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer
Double-blind clinical studies conducted
Sunnyvale, CA and Taipei City, Taiwan, July 26, 2016 – CellMax Life, the precision cancer testing company, announced today that CellMax CRC-Protect, its blood-based test for early detection of colorectal cancer based on the CMx Platform®, is now available in Taiwan.
The CellMax CRC-Protect blood test has been clinically proven for colorectal cancer detection in two separate studies of over 500 Taiwanese patients at leading medical centers in Taiwan, including Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH).
For moderate to high risk patients, the clinical studies showed that over 90% of the time the CMx Platform correctly identified the patients who had colorectal cancer.
The breakthrough test requires only blood sample, which can be drawn as part of a regular healthcare provider visit; no dietary restrictions or medication alterations are necessary.
Colorectal Cancer on Rise in Taiwan
Colorectal cancer is the most common form of cancer in Taiwan, with the rate continuing to rise unabated every year. According to the ROC Ministry of Health and Welfare, in 2013 there were more than 15,140 new diagnosed cases of colorectal cancer — one person is diagnosed every 35 min with colorectal cancer in Taiwan.
“Only 30 percent of patients in Taiwan over age 50 are being regularly screened according to medical guidelines,” said Dr. Mana K Javey, MD, PhD, VP of Medical Affairs, CellMax Life. “A simple CRC blood test can be useful as an early warning system, to the vast majority of patients who are non-compliant to other screening tests such as colonoscopies and stool tests.”
Late Stage Colorectal Cancer detection has higher costs & higher mortality rate.
Although screening and early detection of colorectal cancer have been conclusively shown to save lives, about 50 percent of colorectal cancer cases are not detected until stage 3 or 4, where the survival rate can drop to as low as 10%, compared to a survival rate of more than 90 percent for early stage cancer. The costs of treating late stage cancer can be as high as USD 200,000 per patient, prohibitive for most patients.
“CellMax CRC-Protect’s ability to detect colorectal cancer in early stages, with a convenient blood test, can be a valuable early warning system for the vast majority of those who are reluctant to take a stool test or colonoscopy for screening.” said Dr. Ashish Nimgaonkar, MD, Asst. Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology) and Assoc. Medical Director, Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, USA.
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Circulating Tumor Cells as Biomarker for early Cancer Detection
A major new development in cancer research over the past decade has been the role of circulating tumor cells (CTC). Circulating tumor cells are cells shed from the primary tumor site into the bloodstream, where they then may travel to other sites in the body to form metastatic lesions, or to be destroyed.
“Circulating tumor cells can serve as a clear indicator of the presence of cancer in the body, often earlier than other indicators or detection methods,” said Dr. Rui Mei, PhD, CSO of CellMax Life. “The technological challenge is to detect these extremely rare cells in the blood and to keep them viable for further analysis.”
The tremendous difficulty of identifying these rare circulating tumor cells can be understood by looking at the order of magnitude of their presence at different cancer stages:
- Pre-cancer has 1 CTC per billion blood cells
- Early stage cancer has 10 CTC’s per billion blood cells.
- Late stage cancer has 100s of CTCs per billion blood cells
“The most effective way to prevent colorectal cancer mortality is to detect it early,” said Dr. Tsai Wen-Shi, MD, PhD, of CGMH. “This non-invasive blood test based on the CMx platform, with high clinically demonstrated accuracy and high accessibility, has the potential to detect cancer at earlier stages.”
The CMx Platform detects circulating tumor cells in the blood, even at early cancer stages
The fundamental principle behind the recent breakthrough in early CRC detection relies on the ability to find extremely rare, abnormal cells in a sea of billions of normal cells in a blood sample. The CMx Platform™ can detect rare abnormal, potentially cancerous cells in the blood, just like a very vigilant radar. With this new technology, early‐stage colorectal cancer, and even pre‐cancer, can be detected.
Case Study: Early Detection via CMx Platform Blood Test Saves Life
Lily Liao, a resident of Taipei, has been vigilant about her health for many years.
Lily stated, “Despite having a family history of cancer, including my oldest brother passing away because of colorectal cancer, I was afraid of the side effects of anesthesia and of the risk for my colon to be injured during a colonoscopy so I avoided it. I heard the CellMax Life CMx platform test could detect abnormal colon cells in the very early stages of cancer from a simple blood draw, and decided to take it.”
When her test came back abnormal, Lily Liao went for a colonoscopy, which found several polyps in her colon, including some pre-cancerous polyps, which the doctor removed.
“If I’d never taken the CellMax CMx platform blood test, I would probably still believe I would not get colorectal cancer in the absence of symptoms. Now I am finally relieved, and take the CellMax Life test regularly to monitor my condition,” Lily concluded.
To view Lily’s video case study, please see CRC blood test patient case study.
About CellMax Protect and the CMx Platform
CellMax Life’s patented CMx Platform is clinically proven to detect early-stage circulating tumor cells (CTCs) that are shed from the primary tumor site into the bloodstream in early stage cancer. The CMx Platform uses a biomimetic, lipid-bilayer coated microfluidic chip to capture these rare cells in peripheral blood. The test can be useful in cases of non-compliance with recommended colonoscopies or messy stool tests, and as a supplemental screening.
For more information, please visit CellMax Protect early cancer screening blood test.
About CellMax Life
CellMax Life, Inc. is a precision cancer blood-testing company providing comprehensive, personalized multi-biomarker technology platforms for genetic cancer risk assessment, early detection and personalized treatment of cancer. CellMax Life’s flagship product is CellMax CRC-Protect, a multi-biomarker blood test for early detection of colorectal cancer, which is currently marketed in Taiwan. For more information, please visit www.cellmaxlife.com, tw.cellmaxlife.com, or call +1 650-564-3905 (U.S.), or (+886) 0800-555-885 (Taiwan). Offices are at: 1271 Oakmead Parkway, Sunnyvale, CA 94085 and 18F-1 Park Street, Nangkang, Taipei City.
