TOKYO: NEC Corporation and BostonGene Corporation (BostonGene), a Boston, Mass-based biomedical software company, has announced a $50M series A strategic investment in BostonGene by NEC.

BostonGene, a pioneer in the use of biomedical software for advanced patient analysis, has discovered, developed, and patented a holistic approach to cancer treatment by defining the optimal therapy combination for individual patients, with a particular focus on immuno- and targeted therapies.

BostonGene’s solution includes:

Genome and transcriptome sequencing methods to create a patient’s molecular profile.
Algorithms that estimate the immune fitness and cancer characteristics of a patient.
A continuously updated expert-curated and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven database of cancer research and clinical information.

Cloud-native software that delivers a patient-prioritized list of best treatment options based on comprehensive data analysis of the tumor and its microenvironment.

Founded in 2015, BostonGene has evaluated its solution utilizing extensive data in close collaboration with many leading cancer centers across the U.S., and has a robust intellectual property portfolio.

The funding will allow BostonGene to accelerate its long-term strategy, enable the expansion of the company’s development efforts, advance its collaboration programs, and support the growth of its talented and diverse team.

“As demonstrated by its remarkable growth and early widespread adoption, BostonGene is leading the precision medicine market in the innovation and development of a mission-critical computing platform,” said Osamu Fujikawa, senior vice president and head of the Business Innovation Unit at NEC Corporation. “NEC and BostonGene share a common vision of the immense potential of an AI-driven approach to cancer immunotherapy. Leveraging the strengths of both companies we will be able to improve the survival rate and quality of life for cancer patients.”

“Transforming and personalizing medicine, from treating a diagnosis to treating the person, is becoming a reality with BostonGene’s unique breakthrough platform. Our early successes validate the market need and the potential of our solution to truly transform cancer treatment and dramatically improve patients’ chances for survival and quality of life. An investment of this magnitude will support our vision, mission and strategy, as well as the formation of synergies with the NEC Health Tech business to create meaningful new opportunities,” said Andrew Feinberg, President and CEO of BostonGene.