Natick Company Raises $19 Million To Advance Early Detection of HPV & Other Viral Cancers

The following is a press release submitted to SOURCE media through its business wire service.

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NATICK – Naveris, a healthcare company dedicated to improving patient care through early detection of virus-related cancers, announced the close of its expanded Series A financing, bringing the total raised to over $19 million since the company’s inception.

Gurnet Point Capital (GPC), a private investment fund focused in the healthcare and life sciences sector, led the financing round.

Naveris is pioneering novel diagnostic technologies that deliver actionable and meaningful information to physicians so they can better care for their patients. Naveris applies proprietary technology, invented at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Cancer Center, to accurately detect cancer using specialized genetic fingerprints from circulating tumor DNA.

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The company is led by an experienced executive team including Piyush B. Gupta, PhD, Founder & Chief Executive Officer; Philip Stephens PhD, Chief Scientific Officer; and Barry Berger, MD, Chief Medical Officer, who bring deep academic and industry experience in cancer and molecular diagnostics.

“The best approach to eliminating the morbidity and mortality from cancer is to implement innovative technologies, accessible to treating physicians and patients, that demonstrate a significant improvement in early stage diagnosis when treatment can be curative. This core belief serves as the guiding principle for all of our activities at Naveris, in order to transform the life of patients suffering from virus-related cancers,” said Gupta.

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Naveris’ lead product, NavDx^®, applies proprietary technology to enable ultrasensitive detection of HPV-related cancer. NavDx^® has been clinically validated through a 3-year longitudinal study, demonstrating 100% negative predictive value and 94% positive predictive value in detecting recurrence of HPV-related head and neck cancer. The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, were from the largest and most comprehensive study investigating a blood test in HPV-related head and neck cancer. Naveris currently provides the NavDx^® test through its CLIA laboratory to cancer centers throughout the U.S.

The financing will help Naveris expand patient access to NavDx^® and further generate data to support reimbursement and inclusion in treatment guidelines. Naveris will also use the funds for continued product development and advancement of the company’s pipeline for other viral-related cancers.

“Naveris has developed powerful, clinically-validated technology that is rapidly transforming how physicians can treat patients with virus-related cancers,” said Sophie Kornowski, Senior Partner at Gurnet Point Capital, and member of Naveris’ Board of Directors. “Naveris’ innovation allows not only earlier detection but also more informed treatment, that can benefit patients, physicians as well as the healthcare system overall.”

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Naveris CEO Piyush Gupta, PhD, commented, “The Gurnet Point team brings a wealth of experience in life sciences and healthcare. Their continued support through this Series A expansion will drive further adoption of NavDx, while also accelerating the application of our core technology to other cancer types and indications.”

Naveris, Inc. is a molecular diagnostics company developing and bringing to market novel blood tests to enhance the early detection and clinical management of viral-associated cancers. The company has developed the NavDx^® test, which uses proprietary technology to detect tumor tissue modified HPV. The company is located in Natick.

Gurnet Point Capital (GPC) is a unique healthcare fund founded by Ernesto Bertarelli and led by Christopher A. Viehbacher, who, together, have decades of expertise in an industry for which they share a passion, both as chief executives and as investors. With an initial allocation of $2 billion, GPC is investing long-term capital and supporting entrepreneurs in building a new generation of companies. Based in Cambridge, its remit is global, encompassing life sciences and medical technologies. The fund invests across all stages of product development through to commercialization and does so with an approach that is a hybrid of venture and private equity investing strategies.

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