Loading organizations...
Foundation Medicine has raised $91.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Key people at Foundation Medicine.
Foundation Medicine has raised $91.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Foundation Medicine is a molecular diagnostics company based in Morrisville, North Carolina, and Boston, Massachusetts, that develops genomic profiling tests to analyze cancer-driving mutations for personalized oncology treatments. The publicly traded enterprise translates advanced cancer genomics into routine clinical practice by providing actionable insights to physicians, researchers, and patients. Initially backed by venture capital, the organization secured a $25 million Series A funding round to accelerate its molecular diagnostic capabilities. The firm received early financial backing and strategic guidance from prominent life sciences investors, most notably Third Rock Ventures, Mark Levin, and Robert Tepper. Early executive leadership included Alexis Borisy, who helped steer the company toward its current position in the precision medicine market. Foundation Medicine was established in 2010 by a team of cancer genomics pioneers including Eric Lander, Todd Golub, Levi Garraway, and Matthew Meyerson.
Foundation Medicine has raised $91.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Foundation Medicine's investors include Bill Gates, Evan Jones, Yuri Milner, Domain Associates, GV, Kleiner Perkins, Versant Ventures, Third Rock Ventures.
Foundation Medicine has raised $91.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $14.0M Series B in January 2013.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2013 | $14M Series B | — | Bill Gates, Evan Jones, Yuri Milner | Announced |
| Sep 1, 2012 | $43M Series B | — | Domain Associates, GV, Kleiner Perkins, Versant Ventures | Announced |
| Oct 1, 2011 | $34M Series A | Third Rock Ventures | Domain Associates, GV, Kleiner Perkins, Versant Ventures | Announced |
Key people at Foundation Medicine.
Foundation Medicine is a precision oncology company that develops and sells comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) tests using next-generation sequencing to analyze tumors and match patients to targeted therapies.[1][2] Its products, such as FoundationOne CDx for solid tumors (covering ovarian, lung, breast, colorectal, and melanoma) and FoundationOne Heme for blood cancers, serve oncologists, patients with advanced cancers, and pharmaceutical partners by identifying actionable genomic alterations from over 300 cancer-driving genes.[1][2] The company solves the problem of one-size-fits-all cancer treatment by enabling personalized medicine, drawing from its FoundationCore database of over 300,000 genomic profiles across 150+ cancer subtypes for research and therapy development.[1] Since its 2018 acquisition by Roche, Foundation Medicine has grown to over 1,700 employees across North America and Germany, accelerating CGP as a standard of care.[2]
Foundation Medicine emerged from cancer genomics research at the Broad Institute, where scientists Levi Garraway and Matthew Meyerson published a 2007 paper on large-panel testing for 238 DNA mutations, inspiring the company's focus on comprehensive profiling.[1] Founded in 2010 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a $25 million Series A led by Third Rock Ventures, it launched its first test, FoundationOne, in 2012 for solid tumors, followed by partnerships like a 2011 pilot with Novartis—expanding to over 30 pharma collaborations by 2018.[1] Key milestones include its 2013 IPO, the release of FoundationOne Heme, and Priority Health's coverage as the first U.S. plan to reimburse its tests in 2014; it also contributed anonymized data from 18,000 patients to the NCI's Genomic Data Commons in 2016.[1] Roche fully acquired it in 2018, integrating it as an independent affiliate to scale global impact.[2]
Foundation Medicine rides the precision medicine wave in oncology, where genomic sequencing shifts treatment from empirical chemotherapy to biomarker-driven therapies amid rising cancer incidence and immunotherapy advances.[1][2] Its timing aligns with next-generation sequencing cost drops and regulatory nods (e.g., FDA approvals), plus growing pharma demand for real-world evidence from databases like FoundationCore, which powers NCI contributions and drug discovery.[1] Market forces like value-based care and payer coverage (e.g., Priority Health in 2014) favor it, influencing the ecosystem by democratizing CGP data for 150+ cancer subtypes and fostering over 30 pharma partnerships that speed targeted drug pipelines.[1][2]
Foundation Medicine is poised to expand CGP adoption globally under Roche, with liquid biopsy innovations like FoundationOne Liquid enabling non-invasive monitoring and AI-enhanced analysis of its vast FoundationCore dataset.[1][2] Trends like multi-omics integration, AI-driven insights, and combination therapies will shape its path, potentially influencing regulations to mandate profiling in advanced cancers. Its role may evolve from diagnostic leader to central hub for oncology R&D, amplifying personalized treatment impact and Roche's precision oncology dominance—echoing its origins in groundbreaking Broad Institute research to redefine cancer care.[1][2]
