Novo Holdings Growth Investments expands portfolio in cancer diagnostics

Growth team leads financing round in Cleveland Diagnostics; company to advance novel blood-based diagnostic technology to improve and lower costs for patients with cancer

San Francisco, January 8, 2024 – Novo Holdings today announced it led a $75 million financing round in Cleveland Diagnostics, a cancer biotechnology company developing highly efficacious, clinician-friendly diagnostics tests that detect prostate cancer earlier. The proceeds will accelerate the commercial strategy of the company’s protein-centric test, IsoPSA, fund expanded infrastructure and R&D pipeline development, and broaden the geographic scope of its prostate cancer test.  The company also expects to expand its portfolio of oncology-related tests beyond prostate cancer and into additional indications like breast cancer, lung cancer, and other diseases, in 2024.

“This growth capital will provide Cleveland Diagnostics the capital and flexibility to advance our portfolio of non-invasive tests as demonstrated by the rapidly increasing demand for our IsoPSA prostate cancer test,” said Arnon Chait, Ph.D., Cleveland Diagnostics CEO & co-founder.

Cleveland Diagnostics’ proprietary technology is blood-based, and measures protein structure, rather than concentration, resulting in better insights and fewer biopsies for patients with suspicion of prostate cancer. Its IsoPSA test is used to further stratify the risk of prostate cancer and aid in biopsy decisions for men identified at higher risk. By differentiating cancer from benign conditions, IsoPSA helps minimize the cost of overdiagnosis and over treatment.

Currently 1 in every 8 men are expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. In 2023 alone, there were an estimated 288,000 new prostate cancer diagnoses and over 34,000 deaths in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. Existing diagnostics are costly and inefficient, leading to 75% unnecessary biopsies, and up to 25% cancers being missed.

“It's all about the patients. IsoPSA has the potential to improve treatment, reduce costs, and increase quality-of-life for patients who may have prostate cancer. And the differentiated blood-based approach presents an opportunity to further improve diagnostics for other cancers and diseases," said Noel Jee, Partner on the Growth Investments team at Novo Holdings, who will join the Cleveland Diagnostics Board of Directors.  

“We believe the diagnostics space is critical to improving care for patients and processes for clinicians. We are delighted to support Cleveland Diagnostics with growth capital and to work together with their team to expand their leadership in this area of high patient need,” added Jee.

About Cleveland Diagnostics, Inc.
Cleveland Diagnostics, Inc. is a commercial-stage diagnostics company developing highly efficacious, lab-friendly, affordable diagnostics tests using proprietary technology to improve cancer diagnostics. The Company’s Solvent Interaction Analysis™ (SIA) technology investigates protein biomarkers at the structural level in blood, providing better and more direct insights regarding the protein origin on the cellular level, thus improving test specificity to the underlying disease process. Its portfolio of non-invasive cancer diagnostics will be expanding from prostate cancer to additional cancers. Please visit us at ClevelandDx.com.

About Novo Holdings A/S
Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company that is responsible for managing the assets and the wealth of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The purpose of Novo Holdings is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet by generating attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Holdings is the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S and manages an investment portfolio with a long-term return perspective. In addition to managing a broad portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate, infrastructure and private equity assets, Novo Holdings is a world-leading life sciences investor. Through its Seeds, Venture, Growth, and Principal Investments teams, Novo Holdings invests in life science companies at all stages of development.
As of year-end 2022, Novo Holdings had total assets of EUR 108 billion.
www.novoholdings.dk

About the Novo Nordisk Foundation
The Novo Nordisk Foundation is an independent Danish foundation with corporate interests. It has two objectives: 1) to provide a stable basis for the commercial and research activities of the companies in the Novo Group; and 2) to support scientific, humanitarian and social causes.

The vision of the Foundation is to contribute significantly to research and development that improves the lives of people and the sustainability of society. Since 2010, the Foundation has donated more than DKK 30 billion ($5 billion), primarily for research at public institutions and hospitals in Denmark and the other Nordic countries. Read more at www.novonordiskfonden.dk/en