Latvian LongeVC invested in US health tech startup AOA Dx

Latvian LongeVC invested in the US startup AOA Dx, which develops an AI-powered platform and a diagnostic test to detect ovarian cancer at the early stages. A €17M round was led by US Good Growth Capital. US investment firms RH Capital, Astia, Gore Range Capital, The Helm, VU Venture Partners, FemHealth Ventures, CANCER FUND, LabCorp Venture Fund (backed by healthcare company LabCorp), US accelerator Y Combinator, and Singaporean investment firm Adaptive Capital Partners also joined this round.

Founded in Boston (US) in 2019 by Oriana Papin-Zoghbi, Anna Milik Jeter, and Alexander Fisher, AOA Dx designed a diagnostic platform GlycoLocate to detect tumor biomarkers gangliosides in the blood. The excess levels of gangliosides are often seen in cancer patients. The platform helps detect cancer in both symptomatic and non-symptomatic patients, including earlier stages.

In addition, AOA Dx designed an ovarian cancer diagnostic test AKRIVIS GD. It is a liquid biopsy test (blood test), that analyzes tumor marker gangliosides. The test is currently undergoing a trial period in 20 US hospitals, gynecology and oncology clinics. 

The company claims that in the future its platform will allow early diagnosis of the world’s deadliest cancers, not only ovarian cancer.

AOA Dx will use the investment for further developing its diagnostic test AKRIVIS GD and GlycoLocate platform. It also plans to grow the team of scientists in the future.

LongeVC is a venture company with offices in Riga and Lugano (Switzerland). It was established in 2016 by Garri Zmudze, Sergey Jakimov, and Ilya Suharenko. A €35M fund backs startups at the early and seed stages across the US and Europe. This year, LongeVC invested in San Francisco-based psychedelics startup Freedom Biosciences, US home kits for blood testing SiPhox Health, and US startup Melio, which offers rapid diagnostic solutions for bloodstream infections.