Haystack: personalized liquid biopsy tests for minimal residual disease

Haystack’s circulating tumor DNA-based liquid biopsy tests use up to 50 of an individual patients’ tumor mutations to detect minimal residual disease with high sensitivity. Fueled by a $56 million series A round led by co-founder Catalio Capital Management, the company is aiming for a 2023 launch of its test to identify colon cancer patients who need adjuvant therapy after surgery.

Baltimore-based Haystack Oncology Inc. builds minimal residual disease (MRD) tests to detect circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in blood on a patient-by-patient basis, using whole exome sequencing of excised tumor tissues to identify which ctDNA variants to incorporate into its panels. ...