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Bengaluru-headquartered oncology technology startup 4baseCare on Wednesday raised $2 million in a pre-Series A round led by Mount Judi Ventures, growX Ventures, Season Two Ventures, First In Ventures, and a few strategic angel investors.

The oncology startup will use the funding to expand its genomic tests portfolio and increase its geographic presence across Asia. Besides, it will also focus on strengthening its R&D and operations.

According to 4baseCare — which had earlier raised a seed round as part of the Illumina Accelerator programme — the fresh set of investors have a strong understanding of healthcare and technology and focus on creating social impact through their investments.

The startup aims to make precision oncology a standard of care in Asia by increasing the utilisation of genomic tests in oncology. It is working towards developing a first-of-its-kind, Indian population-specific gene panel that will analyse a large number of genes for cancer-associated mutations to identify optimal treatment options, leading to improved outcomes. 

Speaking on the investment, Hitesh Goswami, CEO, 4baseCare, said, “Access to advanced technology, which can help improve treatment and care, should be for everyone. Our vision is to leverage technology to develop affordable solutions to personalise patient care in oncology.”

With an annual cancer burden of over 1.5 million across India, these genomic tests are available to very few patients who can afford such tests. This is because of the currently available test, which is primarily sourced from foreign companies and are exorbitantly priced. The startup aims to bring down the cost of such tests.

Kshitij Rishi, COO, 4baseCare, said, “With this capital, we will be increasing the affordability of our genomic test portfolio through research and process efficiency. With our comprehensive solutions and global collaborations, we are confident that we will make precision medicine a standard of cancer care in our country.”

Sajan Pillai, CEO and Managing Partner of Season Two Ventures, said, “Genomics and other data capabilities are now redefining life sciences. Their quest to make precision oncology more affordable and accessible contributes greatly to the growing biotech space in India and globally, and we are extremely happy to support them in their journey.”