Season Two Ventures backs 4baseCare, an India-based Precision Oncology Company

California-headquartered venture capital firm, Season Two Ventures (S2V) has invested in an Indian oncogenomics company, 4baseCare from its first $100 million fund this year. The new investment, 4baseCare, offers data solutions for novel precision therapeutics in the oncology space, specifically for Southeast-Asian populations. The company is currently working with 20+ hospitals to provide genetic tests for patients, in addition to an end-to-end application platform that allows the patient and clinician to keep track of their oncogenomics data.

Oncology continues to have a severe disease burden globally, with Asians accounting for more than 50% of total diagnoses. Yet the relevant data is mostly from Caucasian populations, meaning that the genetic profile used to treat other races is incomplete. 4baseCare seeks to bridge this gap. They are building an Indian population specific cancer gene panel. They are generating a comprehensive genomics database by sequencing tissue samples from 1000s of oncology patients through their clinical and research collaborations with leading private and government hospitals and institutes which include ACTREC-TMC, AIIMS, Fortis, Shankara Cancer Hospital and St John's Research Institute. The launch of this first-of-its-kind, unique population-specific gene panel is planned for May 2021, and will give unique insight into cancer markers linked to diagnosis and prognosis in Indian cancer patients. This will give patients access to increasingly personalized treatments for better clinical outcomes.

Sajan Pillai, Managing Partner at S2V said, “Genomics and other data capabilities are now redefining life sciences. 4baseCare has been doing phenomenal work in providing clinically-relevant genomics solutions for oncology patients, and we are extremely happy to support them. The biotech space in India has shown increasing promise in creating impactful solutions that can be applied globally. S2V will continue to invest in India, and in similar technologies. We want to be committed with our distribution system, advisory and shared services so that our portfolio companies can scale through close tie-ups with Fortune 500 companies and expand their revenue runway.”

Hitesh Goswami, CEO and Co- Founder of 4baseCare said, “Season Two works very differently with early stage start-ups by helping them build commercial networks which leads to actual revenues for the company. With their global access we hope to leverage their expertise in B2B business models to expand our business at a rapid pace”.

S2V has backed 5 start-ups across sectors in India last year despite the pandemic. The B2B-focused fund scouts for tech-first start-ups in the enterprise SaaS, healthtech, fintech, logistics/supply chain and retail space. The fund typically cuts a first cheque of $500,000 to $1 million, with a $2-3 million follow-on investment. Its edge lies in its founding team, which includes global advisors like Sunir Kapoor, operating partner at Atlantic Bridge Ventures, and Rollin Ford, the former CAO at Walmart, among others, and its commitment to working closely with startup founders to establish a go-to-market product leveraging the fund’s network and experience.