Adela
Adela is developing blood tests that read chemical marks across the whole genome of DNA fragments in the blood, first to check whether cancer is still present after treatment and later to screen for many cancers at once.
Overview
Adela, headquartered in Toronto with US operations in Foster City, California, launched in June 2021 on technology from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Sinai Health System. Its genome-wide methylome enrichment platform profiles all methylated cell-free DNA fragments in a blood sample without bisulphite conversion, enabling tissue-agnostic, tumour-naive tests that do not require sequencing the primary tumour. The lead application is minimal residual disease (MRD) and immunotherapy response monitoring in advanced solid tumours; a clinical validation of the tissue-free immunotherapy response test appeared in npj Precision Oncology in March 2026. A multi-cancer early detection (MCED) programme is in study, with progress shown at ASCO 2026. Adela raised a $60 million Series A in 2021 led by F-Prime Capital and $48 million in 2023 with Labcorp joining, $108 million in total.
Funding
All startups| Round | Year | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series A · Round name not given in the release (listed as Series A1 extension on the company news page); existing investors plus new investor Labcorp; cumulative funding $108 million. | 2023 | $48M | adelabio.com |
| Series A · Led by F-Prime Capital with OrbiMed, Deerfield Management, Decheng Capital and RA Capital Management; company launched June 2021 (formerly DNAMx). | 2021 | $60M | adelabio.com |
Amounts only where the cited source states them. Rounds without a public source are not listed.
Notes
top- 2021 release dateline is Toronto and San Francisco; 2023 release dateline is Foster City, CA. Toronto chosen as HQ per the company origin. No specific cancer types are tagged because the tests are tissue-agnostic.
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