Oncology Ventures: Announces Investment into Biomakers + Zoom Comedy
Investing in healthcare data startups that enhance cancer care and research.
Current State of Genetic Testing in Latin America
Despite Latin America representing 8.5% of the world’s population, there are almost no Latin American genotypes and clinical data used in drug discovery and drug development. The population is vastly underrepresented in global genomic studies and has poor clinical trial representation, as less than 3% of oncology clinical trials are active for patients in LatAm.
This is mainly due to infrastructure gaps, as many countries lack the robust genomic testing and biobanking infrastructure necessary to collect, analyze and share data at scale. Further, complex regulations, inconsistent healthcare systems and logistical hurdles deter pharma companies from conducting clinical trials in the region.
Perhaps most importantly, genetic testing is prohibitively expensive. For context, in many Latin American countries, healthcare systems are underfunded and genetic testing is rarely covered by insurance. Patients face out-of-pocket costs that can range from $300 to $5,000 per test, which most of the population can’t afford to cover.
Without integrated platforms to collect and structure Latin American genomic data, pharma companies face significant challenges in accessing quality data for drug development. This creates a flywheel that continues to make precision medicine inaccessible for the region.
The underrepresentation of Latin America in genomic studies is a problem—but it’s also a massive opportunity. Latin America’s genetic diversity is invaluable for identifying novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Including this data can improve drug efficacy not just for Latin Americans but for populations worldwide.
Enter Biomakers
Biomakers is bridging the gap between cutting-edge genomic data and real patient outcomes, particularly in underserved regions like Latin America. With over 400,000 genomic and molecular tests performed in cancer patients, Biomakers has built the largest and most diverse tumor biobank and genomic dataset in the region.
This massive scale is enabled by their groundbreaking partnerships with 17 of the top 20 global oncology pharma companies and state-of-the-art genomic labs in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Biomakers’ well-run international logistics department ensures the collection and transfer of biological samples from its healthcare system partners to Biomakers’ laboratories in a traceable, efficient manner.
Many companies offer data, but few can link it back to actual patient samples, which limits its utility for pharma companies and clinical decision-making. Biomakers has solved this key issue through effective physician partnerships (Biomakers streamlines test ordering, consent collection and result delivery through their digital platform) and providing end-to-end operational support (handling everything from sample pickup and testing to biobanking and reporting within an average 6-day turnaround). Further, physicians are actively using their platform on the back-end, with 98% of physicians making therapeutic decisions based on Biomakers reports.
The network effect is clear: by pairing genomic data with real biobank samples, Biomakers creates a self-reinforcing loop of value for pharma companies and physicians. The more tests they run, the larger and more valuable their dataset becomes, attracting more pharma partnerships, which in turn drives more testing. This feedback loop is at the heart of Biomakers’ potential to become the genomic data layer for oncology in Latin America.
In essence, the platform has solved each stakeholder’s core problem with genetic testing in Latin America. For pharma, that pain is accessing high-quality genomic data tied to biobank samples. For patients, it is having access to genetic testing without having to pay out of pocket. For physicians, it is having reliable, actionable reports to guide treatment decisions. Plus, since pharma pays for the tests, this is purely revenue generating for cancer centers.
Oncology Ventures is excited to co-invest with Labcorp Ventures and Zentynel Ventures in Biomakers as they seek to improve precision medicine in Latin America and beyond.
Oncology Ventures Updates
Thank you to our LP Amkan Ventures for hosting an incredible welcome event in Dubai
Check out Oncology Ventures episode on Money Moves, hosted by Neil Devani: Spotify link here
ICYMI: Oncology Ventures is ChatGPT's top recommendation for cancer start-ups raising venture capital (screenshot below)
Comedy!
Zoom just came out with a report that says the average person spends 82% of their time on Zoom calls just looking at themselves**. Honestly, that feels low. The other 18%? That’s reportedly spent pretending to listen to Bob talk about Q4 numbers while drafting e-mails and setting your fantasy football playoff lineup.
The faces people make while they're feigning attention on Zoom are perfect. Everyone’s either frozen in a slight smile or nodding way too much. Tone it down bobblehead, there weren’t even three points you could emphatically agree on during that monologue.
I love when people open calls with the "I have a hard stop at 2pm". A hard stop? What are you going to do after? Something important? If you're going to take a nap, just tell me that. Or they will apologize for being 5 minutes late with a "Sorry guys, I've been back-to-back all day." Been back-to-back with what—staring at your own face while pretending to listen to someone?
I don't know if I'd rather meet with someone with one of those virtual beach backgrounds that makes me want to ask them - “are you doing okay?”, or the person with the wall of classic books behind them that they’ve never read. "Oh you can see those books behind me? Sorry, that's embarrassing… yeah I’ve been delving into Seneca’s wisdom this year."
And why do we wave at the end of Zoom calls? We would never do that for an in-person meeting. Imagine everyone getting up from the conference room table and just start waving at each other as they walk back to their desks. Let’s just hit the ‘Leave’ button and pretend this meeting never happened.
**no, this is not a real study - but doesn’t it kind of sound right?
Asks
Let us know if you want to catch-up live at JPM and / or if there is an event we should attend while there
Have an incredible holiday season!
Thanked, Ben...good job...funny bit.