Berry Oncology completes new financing

Berry Oncology, a Chinese startup focusing on genomic testing of cancers, has completed a series B1 round of financing of nearly 700 million yuan ($99 million) which brought up its total fundraising to date to about 2 billion yuan.

The new round was led by China Merchants Capital, and existing investors Qiming Venture Partners and Legend Capital, as well as new investors such as CICC Qichen and E Fund also participated.

Founded in August 2017, the company grew out of the tumor business unit of Berry Genomics, one of China's largest companies in genetic testing, and has since established a wide range of genetic testing products and services for tumor patients and high-risk groups.

The company said it has cooperated with more than 700 hospitals nationwide to provide genetic testing services for more than 100,000 tumor patients.

Investors said they are bullish about the future of the company, as well as the early testing sector.

Statistics showed 16 companies in early testing finished 17 financing deals in 2020, receiving a combined investment of 6.3 billion yuan.

Guoyuan Securities predicted China's early testing market for lung cancer will hit 10.65 billion yuan in 2030, and early screening market for colorectal cancer will reach 9.6 billion yuan.