California-based Artera, which offers an AI-enabled test aimed at personalizing therapy for prostate cancer patients, announces its launch alongside a $90 million investment.

Johnson & Johnson, TIME Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Coatue, Walden Catalyst Ventures, The Factory and Breyer Capital participated in the round alongside angel investors Amarjit Gill, Clarence So, Marc Benioff, Lip-Bu Tan, Dennis Wong, Andy Jacques, Jim Breyer, Jeff Dean, Chris Re, Steve Blank and Michael Driscoll.

WHAT IT DOES

Artera's multimodal AI-powered test for prostate cancer patients, dubbed ArteraAI Prostate Test, helps predict the potential benefits of therapy and a patient's prognosis by analyzing the patient's clinical data and biopsy images.

The company will use the funds to distribute its prostate cancer test and develop tests to assist in personalizing therapy options for other types of cancers.  

"In the last 18 months, Artera's AI-informed approach to personalized cancer treatment has unlocked commercial and regulatory traction well ahead of genomic competitors," Stephen Cho, partner at Coatue, said in a statement. "We are thrilled to support Artera as a pioneer in computational diagnostics for an important therapeutic area."

MARKET SNAPSHOT

According to the CDC, about 13 out of 100 American men will get prostate cancer during their lifetime, and two in three of them will die from prostate cancer. African American men and those with a family history are more likely to get prostate cancer than other men.

Another digital health company looking to improve prostate cancer patient outcomes is Avenda Health, which offers clinical decision support software. The company received FDA 510(K) clearance in November for its iQuest tool, meant to be used alongside MRI and biopsy results to help physicians provide more precise cancer treatment.

Dr. Vin Gupta will offer more detail during his HIMSS23 session "Keynote: Healthcare Disruption: Accelerated Opportunities for Care Delivery Alternatives." It is scheduled for Wednesday, April 19, at 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. CT at the West Building, Level 3, in the Skyline Ballroom, room W375.