1/ Engineered biology (like cell + gene therapy) is a powerful tool for TREATING disease. What if biology could be engineered to FIND disease too?
In 2018 I met @Cyriac1 Roeding & Sam Ghambir, a pioneer in early cancer detection. Their company, Earli, proposed to do just that.
In 2018 I met @Cyriac1 Roeding & Sam Ghambir, a pioneer in early cancer detection. Their company, Earli, proposed to do just that.
2/ Earli’s mission is to detect cancer early so it can be treated.
As a leading cancer physician, and father to a child that succumbed to the disease, it was a deeply personal mission for Sam.
@GoEarli is a testament to his life’s work.
stanmed.stanford.edu/2016fall/milan…
As a leading cancer physician, and father to a child that succumbed to the disease, it was a deeply personal mission for Sam.
@GoEarli is a testament to his life’s work.
stanmed.stanford.edu/2016fall/milan…
3/ Developed in Sam’s lab at Stanford, Earli’s technology can program bits of biology to force cancer cells to reveal themselves—a “synthetic biopsy” to precisely locate cancer cells inside the body so they can be treated, early.
4/ Earli programs “IF-THEN” functionality into a genetic template that is amplified within cells:
IF: this a cancer cell...
(tuned for specific or pan-cancer)
THEN: ...make this molecule
(reporter for detection or imaging marker for localization—potentially even a therapeutic)
IF: this a cancer cell...
(tuned for specific or pan-cancer)
THEN: ...make this molecule
(reporter for detection or imaging marker for localization—potentially even a therapeutic)
5/ Bio platforms amplify two superpowers:
to *interrogate* biology in unprecedented ways,
to *intervene* in disease using engineered biological systems.
Earli has the potential to do both: program biology to search for—and eventually destroy—cancer.
a16z.com/2021/01/08/bio…
to *interrogate* biology in unprecedented ways,
to *intervene* in disease using engineered biological systems.
Earli has the potential to do both: program biology to search for—and eventually destroy—cancer.
a16z.com/2021/01/08/bio…
6/ @a16z led Earli’s seed round in 2018. Earli has raised a Series A led by @KhoslaVentures, adding new investors Perceptive Advisors, Casdin Capital, Sands Capital & others.
The company is preparing to enter human clinical trials later this year.
forbes.com/sites/leahrose…
The company is preparing to enter human clinical trials later this year.
forbes.com/sites/leahrose…
7/ Sam passed away in 2020. “He spent nearly 40 years masterminding ways to see & study the infinitesimal biochemical & cellular events in living people—something that had never been done before.” He sparked a revolution in cancer & left a towering legacy:
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
8/ For more on Earli’s team, technology, R&D progress and fundraising:
businesswire.com/news/home/2021…
businesswire.com/news/home/2021…
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