Novo Holdings announced it led a US$ 75 million financing round in Cleveland Diagnostics, a cancer biotechnology company developing highly efficacious, clinician-friendly diagnostics tests that detect prostate cancer earlier.

The proceeds will accelerate the commercial strategy of the company’s protein-centric test, IsoPSA, fund expanded infrastructure and R&D pipeline development, and broaden the geographic scope of its prostate cancer test.  The company also expects to expand its portfolio of oncology-related tests beyond prostate cancer and into additional indications like breast cancer, lung cancer, and other diseases, in 2024.

“This growth capital will provide Cleveland Diagnostics the capital and flexibility to advance our portfolio of non-invasive tests as demonstrated by the rapidly increasing demand for our IsoPSA prostate cancer test,” said Arnon Chait, Ph.D., Cleveland Diagnostics CEO & co-founder.

Cleveland Diagnostics’ proprietary technology is blood-based, and measures protein structure, rather than concentration, resulting in better insights and fewer biopsies for patients with suspicion of prostate cancer. Its IsoPSA test is used to further stratify the risk of prostate cancer and aid in biopsy decisions for men identified at higher risk. By differentiating cancer from benign conditions, IsoPSA helps minimize the cost of overdiagnosis and over treatment.

Currently 1 in every 8 men are expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. In 2023 alone, there were an estimated 288,000 new prostate cancer diagnoses and over 34,000 deaths in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. Existing diagnostics are costly and inefficient, leading to 75% unnecessary biopsies, and up to 25% cancers being missed.

“It's all about the patients. IsoPSA has the potential to improve treatment, reduce costs, and increase quality-of-life for patients who may have prostate cancer. And the differentiated blood-based approach presents an opportunity to further improve diagnostics for other cancers and diseases," said Noel Jee, Partner on the Growth Investments team at Novo Holdings, who will join the Cleveland Diagnostics Board of Directors. 

“We believe the diagnostics space is critical to improving care for patients and processes for clinicians. We are delighted to support Cleveland Diagnostics with growth capital and to work together with their team to expand their leadership in this area of high patient need,” added Jee.