Amplified Sciences receives $108K Flywheel Fund investment to develop pancreatic cancer diagnostics

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Amplified Sciences, a clinical-stage life sciences diagnostic company that licenses Purdue University innovations, has received $108,000 in two investments from the Flywheel Fund to develop its tests for early, more accurate detection of challenging diseases, starting with pancreatic cancer. 

Amplified Sciences’ diagnostic tests are based on technology invented by V. Jo Davisson, professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology in Purdue University’s College of Pharmacy and a faculty member of the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research and the Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery. Davisson serves as the company’s chief scientific officer. The company licenses Davisson’s intellectual property through the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization. 

The Flywheel Fund is a member-managed capital fund for early-stage and high-potential startups based in Indiana. It is administered and run by The Mill, a coworking and entrepreneurship center in Bloomington.

The investment and its impact

Amplified Sciences CEO Diana Caldwell presented the company to Flywheel Fund’s Greater Lafayette chapter and Flywheel Fund’s Fund 4 chapter in Bloomington. Flywheel Fund invested $25,000 and $83,000, respectively, in late 2023.

Pat East, The Mill’s executive director, said Flywheel has historically avoided life sciences investments. He said its decision to invest in Amplified Sciences was influenced by Caldwell’s proven track record as a serial entrepreneur in the life sciences, including a successful exit, and the support of a team of industry experts and advisors.

“The team’s recent impressive progress through key regulatory milestones, clinical validation studies and securing hard-to-achieve National Cancer Institute funding further reinforced our belief that this is the right team to lead Amplified Sciences,” East said. “We are especially excited about the potential of their plug-and-play platform to extend beyond pancreatic cancer, aiding in the early diagnosis of other diseases.” 

Caldwell said the Flywheel Fund investment will help fuel regulatory filings, build out a portfolio of tests and support a targeted early access launch in 2024.

“Collaborating with the Flywheel Fund team during this pivotal phase of our company’s growth has been truly exceptional, and seeing their expansion into life sciences is exciting,” Caldwell said. “While we have collaborations and investors nationwide, it is particularly rewarding to engage with investors with an investment thesis in Indiana.”

In 2023 Amplified Sciences received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant of approximately $350,000 from the National Cancer Institute and a $50,000 match from the state of Indiana to develop pancreatic cancer risk stratification tests. It was named to the Pepperdine University Graziadio Business School’s Most Fundable Companies list in 2021 and to the New York University Stern School of Business’ Endless Frontier Labs life science cohort in 2022.

Facts about pancreatic cancer 

In its Cancer Facts & Figures 2023 report, the American Cancer Society estimated that more than 64,000 Americans were expected to be diagnosed with new cases of pancreatic cancer in 2023. It estimated that more than 50,000 would die from the disease in 2023.

Pancreatic cancer signs and symptoms, like jaundice, severe abdominal pain, weight loss and vomiting, don’t appear until advanced stages of the disease. If a diagnosis is made at an advanced stage, treatments including surgery and pharmaceuticals seldom produce a cure. The five-year relative survival rate is 12% for all patients; for those diagnosed with localized cancer, the rate is 44%.

About Amplified Sciences 

Amplified Sciences is a clinical-stage life science diagnostics startup focused on detecting and preempting the risks of debilitating diseases, thus providing health care professionals the ability to treat patients earlier with better outcomes. The company’s ultrasensitive chemistry platform leverages technology licensed from Purdue University, and its headquarters is in West Lafayette, Indiana. Its lead assay has published clinical evidence in pancreatic cancer. To learn more about Amplified Sciences, visit amplifiedsciences.com. 

About Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university’s academic activities through commercializing, licensing and protecting Purdue intellectual property. In fiscal year 2023, the office reported 150 deals finalized with 203 technologies signed, 400 disclosures received and 218 issued U.S. patents. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. In 2020, IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creation and in the top 20 for patents. The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Contact otcip@prf.org for more information.

Writer/Media contact: Steve Martin, sgmartin@prf.org

Source: Diana Caldwell, diana.caldwell@amplifiedsci.com