PredictImmune
Helping patients diagnosed with chronic immune-mediated disorders to live normal and healthy lives.
Funding Opportunity
PreditImmune are raising £7m equity financing to commercialise PredictSURE® IBD, and
- Build out team in US and UK
- Secure regulatory approval in US and selected markets
- Drive adoption and reimbursement
- Industrialise and scale operations
£7m
Series A
Overview
PredictImmune developes prognostic assays that predict disease progression for patients with immune-mediated disorders. Our flagship product is PredictSURE® IBD, a novel blood test that identifies a patient’s risk of developing severe relapsing-remitting Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, the two most common forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), early in the course of their disease.
Our technology is based on over 15 years’ research at the University of Cambridge. PredictSURE®IBD can guide personalised treatment to deliver the best health outcome for each individual. We are headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with supply and distribution partnerships in the UK, EU and USA.
The Problem
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, are chronic, incurable diseases that follow a heterogenous course. Traditional tools do not predict disease progression reliably, and there is no globally accepted treatment strategy. This results in over/under treatment (with resulting adverse healthcare consequences), avoidable healthcare costs, and diminished quality of life.
PredictSURE®IBD is a whole blood-based qPCR test derived from a proprietary CD8+ T-cell gene expression signature that correlates with the development of relapsing-remitting disease. Our biomarkers identify T-cell exhaustion, in which prolonged activation results in downregulation of killer T-cells cytotoxicity, inflammatory signaling and replication. T-cell exhaustion has been linked to better long-term outcomes in immune diseases and underpins our prognostic risk-classifier.
The Solution
PredictSURE®IBD is the first prognostic that reliably classifies a patient’s risk of developing severe relapsing-remitting IBD. Knowing a patient’s risk of developing severe disease can inform decisions about the optimal treatment strategy for each patient: inexpensive oral therapies with escalation upon failure to respond; or more expensive biologics (infusion or injection).
Knowing one’s risk for developing severe disease can also impart a sense of control to patients, reducing stress and uncertainty. It can also enable more efficient allocation of scarce healthcare budget and resources.
We estimate our TAM at >$400 million/year in developed markets. We are CE-marked, and are planning a US launch via a laboratory partner under the LDT regulations shortly. We are developing our reimbursement strategy and expect to validate clinical utility via our PROFILE clinical trial (http://www.crohnsprofiletrial.com) in 2023.
Management Team
Aarti Gurnani | Chief Executive Officer
Aarti has 25 years’ leadership experience in technology sales, marketing, finance and strategy. She began her professional career as a corporate attorney in Silicon Valley and subsequently became lead counsel for a multinational wireless communications company with operations in Latin America and Southeast Asia. She then spent a number of years as an equity investment banker with JPMorgan before joining Cisco, where she held several senior leadership positions covering the US and EMEA. Aarti is an LBS Sloan Fellow and holds a JD from Hastings and a BSc in Medical Microbiology from Stanford University.
Karen Hills | Executive Director, Market Affairs & Market Access
Karen has over 20 years’ experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in roles ranging from marketing global pharmaceutical brands to business development for early stage pharmaceutical and Biotech companies. She has a passion for medical science and development of innovative products that can improve outcomes in human health across a broad range of therapeutic areas.
Fionnuala Patters | Executive Director, Product & Operations
Fionnuala has been working across life sciences, biotechnology, and diagnostics industries for the past 18 years and has accumulated a high level of technical and operational management experience. She is a strategic, innovative diagnostic expert focusing on technology transfer and clinical realisation of complex diagnostic solutions reaching across early feasibility analysis, product development & validation, QMS & regulatory strategy and operational delivery.
Paul Foulger | Chief Financial Officer
Paul is a seasoned CFO, having been Finance Director at NovaBiotics Ltd, Venn Life Sciences plc, Elsevier Science, Porta Communications plc, Hansard Group plc and Curidium Medica plc, amongst others. He has experience in managing a broad range of corporate transactions including lead roles in several IPOs on the AIM market, two management buy-outs, over £100m of fund-raising and a number of acquisitions both in Europe and the US. More recently he was Group CFO at EKF Diagnostics plc, the global point-of-care and central lab devices and tests medical manufacturer. He is also CFO of GeninCode plc, a Company focussing in risk assessment and the prediction of cardiovascular disease, a non-executive director of Penrhos Bio Ltd, an innovative bioderived anti-biofilm company, and Autoclenz Ltd. He obtained an MBA from Warwick Business School and is a qualified Certified Accountant.
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