Founded by Dr Frederik Lassen and Dr Thomas Caganek, Omos Biosciences is driven by the next generation of Oxford University innovators. Frederik has completed his DPhil in the Kessler lab at the Target Discovery Institute and Big Data Institute, while Thomas has just completed medical school.
They secured initial funding by winning the University of Oxford All Innovate runners-up prize in 2022, gaining public innovation funding in 2023, and are now backed by a set of institutional and angel investors from the US and Europe.
The company's strategy builds on a proven medical concept: some cancers can be completely prevented. For example, removing polyps from the colon can prevent colorectal cancer, and regularly monitoring skin moles can help prevent skin cancer. These strategies tackle cancer before it develops - at the pre-cancer stage.
Omos is working to ensure that other cancers can be treated at the pre-cancer stage. Leveraging deep phenotyping of clinical samples, the team is collecting the largest dataset of its kind and developing models to unravel the biological changes that drive pre-cancerous conditions toward malignancy.
Their goal is to use these insights to develop assets that stratify the risk of malignancy, and ultimately enable the development of therapies that can be administered for pre-cancer conditions where surgery is high-risk or has a low chance of success.
"The BioEscalator ecosystem stands out in Oxford for its unique blend of innovation, ambition, and entrepreneurial spirit. Being part of this environment, alongside other BioEscalator companies, will be invaluable as their experience and guidance can significantly aid our start-up journey."– Frederik Lassen, Co-Founder, Omos Biosciences
We look forward to supporting Omos Biosciences as they embark on their journey and are eager to see the company thrive within our collaborative, entrepreneurial community.