These startups are working across every stage of the clinical trials process to transform cancer treatment, from new takes on existing immunotherapies to novel gene-focused solutions.
Therapeutics startups are targeting cancer using increasingly precise methods of attack, with investment into the cancer therapeutics space on track to reach over $4B in disclosed equity funding for the third consecutive year.
Many players in this space are focusing on immunotherapies, which engineer the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, while others are engineering non-immune cells to recognize and kill cancer cells without harming “good” cells.
Using CB Insights data, we surfaced 127 oncology therapeutics startups developing new cancer treatments and categorized them by therapy type and clinical trial phase.
Notably, many of these companies remain in the drug discovery/pre-clinical stages, in part due to the many years of research needed to prove the safety and effectiveness of a new treatment. As these companies gain traction within their respective specialties, many either seek additional funding by going public or are acquired by bigger players in the pharma market before reaching Phase 3.
We define the cancer therapeutics space to include pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the drug discovery and/or development phase with a stated focus on oncology. We exclude areas such as medical devices & diagnostics (e.g. instrumentation, delivery systems), genetic testing platforms, and digital health.
This market map includes private, active companies only and is not meant to be exhaustive of companies in the space. Categories are not mutually exclusive, and companies are categorized by their leading product.
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