IIM-Ahmedabad incubator invests in an under-trial AI startup that can possibly predict cancer and lead to drug discovery
KRITTI BHALLA OCT 19, 2021, 13:10 IST
Mestastop Solutions focuses on cancer metastasis, which is the reason why cancer spreads to other body parts.
The spreading of the cancer tumour is responsible for 90% of the cancer deaths, Mestastop highlights.
Mestastop is currently creating a larger sample of patient tumors, which will help the company understand cancer cell behaviour.
Bengaluru-based biotechnology startup Mestastop — which is under trial to develop solutions that would address the threat of cancer metastasis — has raised ₹1.3 crore funding from IIM Ahmedabad incubator Center for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE.CO).
IKP Knowledge Park, which is an incubator jointly set up by ICICI Bank and the government of Telangana, has also participated in the round, along with a few angel investors. The science and technology park has over 60 companies in the area of biotechnology, pharma, medical devices and energy.
Mestastop Solutions focuses on cancer metastasis, which is the reason why cancer spreads to other body parts.
Metastases most commonly develop when cancer cells break away from the main tumour and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system. This causes cancer cells to travel from the original tumor to other organs and form new tumours.
The spreading of the tumour is responsible for 90% of the cancer deaths, Mestastop highlighted in its press note.
Mestastop was founded by Dr Arnab Roy Chowdhury and Dr Debabani Roy Chowdhury in 2018. The company uses wet lab biology and predictive analytics to identify and distinguish unique properties of metastasis and leverage them for drug discovery and patient treatment.
A wet lab is a lab where drugs, chemicals, and other types of biological matter can be analysed and tested using various liquids.
The company has developed three proprietary platforms — METAssay, METSAN and METVivo — to conduct research and development (R&D) on metastasis drug discovery and predictive diagnostics.
Mestastop is creating a niche for itself using assay and genetically engineered cell-based approaches to develop an artificial intelligence-based platform to predict metastasis
Chintan Antani, assistant vice president of seed investments at CIIE.CO said.
Mestastop is currently creating a larger sample of patient tumors, which will help the company understand cancer cell behaviour. It will further be utilised for running proof of concept (PoC) animal model studies to validate proof of concept for cancer drug discovery and repurposing.
“An evolutionary disease like cancer cannot be holistically targeted without targeting metastasis, a process that is complex and is yet to be fully understood. We have successfully created tools and platforms to decipher this biology, translate it with patient data, and then into animal models completing our first phase,”
Dr Arnab Roy Chowdhury, founder and chief executive officer at Mestastop said.
According to Emergen Research 2020 report, the Global Metastatic Cancer Treatment Market is projected to be worth $111.16 billion by 2027.
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