Accelerate Fund III invests in Syantra to advance cancer detection

Left to right: Kenneth Fuh, PhD, MLT, Co-Founder & Director of Product Development, Bob Shepherd, Co-Founder, President & CEO, Kristina Rinker, PhD, PEng, Co-Founder & CSO, and Xiuling Wang, PhD Senior Scientist & Commercial Lab Manager.

Calgary, AB, January 20, 2022 – Accelerate Fund III today announced its investment into Syantra Inc. The Alberta-based precision healthcare company is changing the way cancer detection and treatment are undertaken, first by using a blood test for screening detection of breast cancer.  In tandem with announcing its early-stage investment, Syantra has also announced its $6.8M in Series A fundraising.

“Capturing the attention and securing funding from the calibre of investors we are proud to call partners is a testament to our groundbreaking technology that is changing the way cancer is detected and treated,” stated Bob Shepherd, President and Chief Executive Officer at Syantra. “There are a lot of exciting things happening in Alberta, and not only are we watching, but we want to be active participants. Our world-class technology will save lives, initially making a major difference in women’s health.”

Syantra was co-founded by Bob Shepherd, Kristina Rinker, PhD, PEng, Chief Scientific Officer Kenneth Fuh, PhD, MLT, Director of Product Development, Randy Moore, MD, Medical Director, and Hyeyoung Lee, PhD. The company’s flagship product, Syantra DX Breast Cancer, is a screening blood test for the detection of breast cancer that utilizes a suite of biomarkers and proprietary artificial intelligence-generated algorithms to provide a positive or negative result.

While traditional screening methods generally only detect cancers at later stages, recent clinical studies have shown the promise of the Syantra DX Breast Cancer test for the detection of breast cancer among women younger and older. Interim results demonstrate an overall inferred accuracy of 92.2 per cent with its whole cohort of women aged 30 to 75 years, and among participants aged 30-49 years, demonstrate an inferred accuracy of 98.5 per cent. 

“Syantra’s screening technology increases the opportunity for earlier cancer detection, both because of the higher sensitivity and accuracy of Syantra’s method and because the screening is easier to access,” explained Yasmine Al-Hussein, Investment Analyst, Accelerate Fund. “The Syantra DX Breast Cancer test can be done at a medical clinic reducing the burden of traditional testing on hospital facilities and on other healthcare workers. We are excited about the opportunities Syantra envisions to apply this approach to other cancer screening.”

About Syantra

Syantra Inc. is a precision healthcare company that’s changing the way cancer detection and treatment are undertaken. Its flagship product, Syantra DX Breast Cancer, is a screening blood test for the detection of breast cancer that utilizes a suite of biomarkers and proprietary artificial intelligence-generated algorithms to provide a positive or negative result. Syantra DX Breast Cancer represents an early entrant into the emerging molecular diagnostic sector. www.syantra.com

About Accelerate Fund III  

Accelerate Fund III is an early-stage angel co-investment fund in Alberta. We co-invest alongside angel investors in financing rounds and will typically invest up to $500,000 on the same terms and conditions as private investors. We work with formal angel groups, super-angels, family funds, and individual angel investors. Accelerate Fund III invests in private, early-stage Alberta companies in knowledge-based industries including: information and communications technology, energy technology, as well as life sciences, including agriculture and biotech. Accelerate Fund III is managed by Yaletown Partners with the support of The A100. Alberta Enterprise Corporation is Accelerate Fund III’s lead limited partner with support from other investors, including Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund. www.acceleratefund.ca

Media Inquiries:

Accelerate Fund III
Claudia Moore
Material Insight
403.703.0029
Claudia @ materialinsight.com