Function Oncology

About Function Oncology

Function Oncology is a precision medicine company developing a CRISPR-powered functional genomics platform to personalize cancer treatment. Founded in 2019 by twin brothers Dr. Srinath Sampath (CEO) and Dr. Srihari Sampath (CSO), along with Dr. Christian Schmedt (CTO), the team brings together expertise from their time as investigators and leaders at the Novartis Research Foundation's Genomics Institute.

The company's core technology moves beyond traditional gene sequencing, which benefits a minority of cancer patients, to directly measure gene function in patient tumor samples. Using CRISPR-based gene modulation, the platform assesses drug target vulnerabilities to create a "functional fingerprint" for each patient's cancer. This process identifies which drug targets the cancer depends on, allowing for a more precise selection of therapies, even for targets that are not mutated. The analysis, from biopsy to data report, takes approximately two weeks.

Function Oncology's business model has dual applications. The primary focus is providing a diagnostic service to clinicians to guide patient treatment strategies. Additionally, the aggregated data from individual patient analyses is used to identify new, non-mutated drug targets, enabling the company to discover and develop its own novel cancer drugs, and to form partnerships with pharmaceutical companies. In April 2023, the San Diego-based company announced it had raised $28 million in a Series A financing round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Section 32, with participation from Casdin Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments. This funding is intended to advance the platform and support the development of new targeted cancer therapies.