Testing cancer drugs on intact patient tumors to guide drug development
Cancer drug development faces high failure rates, high costs and limited treatment efficacy in patients with solid tumors. Artificial preclinical models struggle to capture the complexity of patient tumors, making it difficult to predict which treatments will work in people.
Calico Biosystems tests cancer drug candidates on intact patient tumors and combines the results with molecular data and computational modeling. Its platform helps drug developers prioritize candidates, cancer indications and treatment combinations before clinical trials.
What stands out about Calico Biosystems
Secured its first commercial customers across the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors in 2025.
Initiated a collaboration with Taconic Biosciences in 2026 linking native patient-tumor insights with systemic in vivo data.
Reports testing across nine studies, seven cancer indications and more than 300 patient tumors.
Won CHF 150,000 in Venture Kick support in 2024 to advance commercialization of its precision oncology platform.
Founded by Marie-Agnès Doucey and Riccardo Turrini, former UNIL researchers with over 15 years of systems immuno-oncology experience.
Selected for the six-month Tech4Eva accelerator in 2024, supporting business development and investor access in women’s health.
Co-founder Marie-Agnès Doucey previously served as VP in Oncology and Head of the Solid Tumor Program at Ichnos Sciences.
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