Delee

Market position

Delee competes in the circulating tumor cell detection field, an area of active research with multiple groups pursuing solutions. The company positions its system as a low-cost alternative, stating pricing approximately 20% below other devices, and cites a market expected to reach a $28.3 billion valuation by 2023.

Delee emphasizes lower cost relative to competing devices, use of lab-on-a-chip technology to reduce cost and minimize errors, sub-10-minute sample processing, delivery of viable CTCs ready for molecular testing, and the ability to be mass manufactured anywhere in the world.

Technology

Delee's system is built on lab-on-a-chip microfluidics for isolating circulating tumor cells from whole blood. The CytoCatch device performs isolation, fluorescent-antibody staining and imaging-based analysis, and is described as an all-in-one technology that can identify, count and deliver viable CTCs suitable for downstream molecular testing. Each sample takes under 10 minutes to process, and the company states the design can be mass manufactured. A related product line, Zen Fluidics, provides microfluidic building blocks for researchers.

Go-to-market

Delee has pursued clinical validation with hospital and academic partners in Mexico and the US ahead of commercialization, collected pre-sales commitments prior to launch, and used equity crowdfunding alongside accelerator backing to fund development. Commercialization is contingent on completion of clinical testing and FDA approval.

Oncologists, hospitals and cancer researchers treating and monitoring cancer patients, with a stated emphasis on making detection and monitoring technologies affordable in low-income areas; the Zen Fluidics line targets researchers building microfluidic applications.

Geography

Headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, where its clinical testing takes place at Hospital Universitario; the company has partnerships with oncologists and cancer researchers in Mexico and with Stanford University in the United States, and raised from US investors via a Regulation CF offering.

History

Delee was founded in 2017 and participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2017 batch. By 2019 its lab-on-a-chip system had isolated CTCs from breast, prostate and colorectal cancer samples, first prostate cancer patient testing was underway in Monterrey, and the company was preparing to raise a Series A. It ran a Regulation CF offering hosted by Republic (OpenDeal Portal LLC) as Delee Corp., which closed to new investment after an April 25, 2020 deadline. Co-founder and CEO Liza Velarde was named a Cartier Women's Initiative fellow in 2019 and the company was included in an October 2021 list of women-led startups in health tech and femtech.

Risks & controversies

The product was not ready for commercialization pending completion of clinical tests and FDA approval, and the CTC field is an active area of research where competing groups are working toward similar solutions.