Scailyte secures CHF 6 million to advance immuno-oncology

Founded in 2017, Scailyte is on the mission to advance precision medicine with single-cell technologies, artificial intelligence, and multi-omics analysis. It has developed an analytical software platform, ScaiVision, that unravels hidden secrets of complex single-cell multi-omics data to extract composite biomarkers associated with different cell populations. ScaiVision automatically learns molecular patterns associated with relevant clinical outcomes using a convolutional neural network. In close collaboration with clinical and industry partners, the startup team has already discovered biomarker signatures in several disease areas, including Sezary Syndrome, Endometriosis and solid cancers.

Thanks to the funding, Scailyte will focus on advancing the endometriosis biomarker into the prototype validation stage in the United States as the primary target market. In addition, the company is building strategic partnerships in single-cell omics, cell & gene therapy, and translational oncology to increase the success rate of novel cancer therapies in the clinic. Scailyte is also expanding the discovery capabilities of ScaiVision, our best-in-class single-cell analytics platform.

“The continuously increasing failure rate of highly anticipated new cancer immuno-therapies in combination with recent FDA’s considerations to step away from animal models is leading to both: unprecedented challenges for translational oncology, and exciting opportunities for clinically relevant alternative models, said Juana Lucia Flores-Candia, PhD, MBA, VP Strategy & Business Development at Scailyte.

“We are proud to be working with Nilogen Oncosystems in developing a joint platform using fresh patient tumour tissues, a cutting-edge omics engine, and computational tools for evaluating the mechanism of action and efficacy of immuno-oncology therapies. We aim to support faster and data-driven decision-making in drug development, increase the success rate in clinical trials, and advance personalized cancer treatment”, she added.

Along with the financing round, Scailyte made changes to its board construction. Peter Ibbotson, the recently promoted Partner at Swisscom Ventures, will replace Dominique Mégret on the Board of Directors of Scailyte. Swisscom Ventures has been an investor in Scailyte since 2018. We were attracted by their team and the innovative use of AI to discover biomarker signatures which improve early diagnosis and therefore have a positive impact on patient journeys. Since our initial investment the company has moved forward in many areas, and we are excited to be part of a project with the potential to improve so many lives”, says Peter.

Mirabaud, which acted as the company’s exclusive advisor for the fundraising process, is an international banking and financial group based in Geneva, Switzerland.

(Press release/RAN)