Sometime in mid-2015, a young cancer patient in New York City was driven to desperation. The family had built a treatment war chest of a few million dollars but the drugs weren’t working. None at all. Not even Keytruda, the expensive breakthrough drug from Merck & Co. which was approved around that time. Through academic connections, the family learnt about Mitra Biotech’s cancer diagnostics technology which the company offered on a compassionate ground.
Paying for precision
Up close with cancer: Why Mitra Biotech is looking to Nasdaq
In 10 years and with just $36 million, Mitra has built what could transform cancer care. It’s looking to Nasdaq to unlock its value, and to India to pressure-test its technology
Cancer treatment today wades through diagnostics, each with high claims. But they often provide little value in most cancers and to a vast majority of patients. Mitra Biotech is out to break the mould
Providing a definitive choice to the doctor, it claims to cut not just pharmaco-toxicity but also economic toxicity rampant in this disease
It may have flipped its corporate structure for a possible Nasdaq listing, its challenges seem unenviable, at least to its competitors
By early next year, it plans to show the world why payers should pay attention. Better, fully reimburse its tests
