Scipher Medicine, a precision immunology company matching each patient with their most effective therapy, today announced the completion of a $110 million financing. The round is led by Cowen Healthcare Investments, with participation from new investors Neuberger Berman, Hitachi Ventures, Laurion Capital, and Monashee Investment Management. Existing investors Northpond Ventures, aMoon, Khosla Ventures, Optum Ventures, Echo Health Ventures, and Alumni Ventures also are participating. To date, Scipher has raised $227 million.
Hundreds of billions of dollars are wasted annually prescribing drugs of limited clinical benefit to patients, even though often effective alternative therapies are available. The largest contributor to this problem is blockbuster autoimmune disease therapies such as TNFi, the world’s largest selling drug class. In rheumatoid arthritis, 90% of patients are prescribed TNFi therapy as first line targeted therapy yet most patients fail to respond, resulting in 67 cents of every dollar wasted and accelerated patient disease progression, bone erosion, and increased use of opioids to manage symptoms.
Scipher is bringing precision medicine to patients with autoimmune diseases by commercializing blood tests that reveal a person’s unique molecular disease signature and matching it to the most effective existing therapy, ensuring providers and payers can select optimal therapy from day one. Molecular and clinical data generated from tested patients further fuel the development of targeted, more effective therapeutics through pharma collaborations.
“Precision medicine has transformed oncology in ways we could only imagine a decade ago. The next frontier to tackle is autoimmune diseases where very few if any solutions exist today,” said Tim Anderson, partner and head of Research at Cowen Healthcare Investments, who is joining Scipher’s Board of Directors. “Scipher is uniquely positioned to lead this field with the company’s data platform, products, team, and business model.”
“We are thrilled to partner with world-class investors who support our mission to solve one of the largest problems in health care today harming individual patients as well as our health care system at large,” said Alif Saleh, chief executive officer of Scipher Medicine. “It is deeply rewarding to experience more and more patients benefiting from our solutions every day.”
“Our continued support reflects our confidence in the Scipher team and in the progress the company is making to deploy cutting-edge science and diagnostic tools to improve the lives of patients with autoimmune disease,” said Michael P. Rubin, M.D., Ph.D., CFA, founder and CEO of Northpond Ventures.
