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First Ascent Biomedical
Techstars '21Beaverton, US · Founded 2018 · 19 employees on LinkedIn · 3 known investors
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First Ascent Biomedical provides personalized cancer treatment recommendations using a proprietary live-cell testing platform that evaluates individual tumor response to 150+ FDA-approved therapies. The company serves oncologists and cancer patients, delivering treatment insights within approximately 10 days to enable faster, more effective care decisions.
Also known as First Ascent · First Ascent Bio
Founders & leadership
First Ascent Biomedical was founded in 2018 by Raymond Rodriguez-Torres.
Investors · 3
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Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Sep 2026First Ascent Biomedical is a biotechnology company working in functional precision oncology. Its platform, xDRIVE (Ex Vivo Drug Response Identification & Validation Engine), combines three components: functional drug validation, in which a patient's live cancer cells are exposed to drugs outside the body; genomic sequencing of DNA and RNA to identify molecular markers; and AI-based "cancer weakness mapping" that ranks likely effective treatments for a given solid or liquid cancer. The company states the approach can test up to 150+ FDA-approved therapies and combinations in parallel and returns patient-specific evidence of drug response to the treating physician in an average of about 10 days.
The platform is offered in two applications: xDrive, aimed at patients and treating oncologists for individualized treatment planning, particularly when standard protocols have been exhausted; and DxPP, aimed at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for drug development, target identification and biomarker discovery, with the stated goal of shortening early-stage development timelines. The company describes validation through scientific publications and collaborations with cancer treatment centers and academic medical institutions, and reports outcome figures including up to 83% of patients responding better than with physician's choice or standard of care and 8.5x longer progression-free survival.
Founding story
First Ascent was founded in 2018. Co-founder and CEO Jim Foote, a technology executive and former Fortune 250 CIO/CISO, describes starting the company after his 16-year-old son Trey died of bone cancer; when the disease recurred, he was told no further options were available and found that the treatment protocol had not changed in 25 years. Foote also founded the Trey Foote Foundation, focused on osteosarcoma treatments. The platform technology was created by co-founder and CTO Dr. Noah Berlow, who developed the AI/ML framework out of work on rare childhood cancers, and co-founder and scientific advisor Dr. Diana Azzam, a cancer researcher specializing in functional precision medicine and an assistant professor at Florida International University's Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work [2][3].
Business model
The company sells testing and decision-support services in two directions: to patients, caregivers and treating oncologists, who receive individualized treatment recommendations derived from testing the patient's own tumor cells, and to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, which use the DxPP application of the platform for drug development, target identification and biomarker discovery [0][1].
Traction
The company reports that up to 83% of patients treated under platform-guided decisions benefited more than with physician's choice or standard of care, and cites 8.5x longer progression-free survival, with results delivered in an average of 10 days. It describes validation through scientific publications and collaborations with cancer treatment centers and academic medical institutions nationwide, and demonstrations with industry partners [0][1][3].
Latest developments
In June 2026, Raymond Rodriguez-Torres was appointed President of First Ascent Biomedical to scale its functional precision oncology operations; he concurrently serves as President & Co-CEO of ALC Home Health and chairs the Live Like Bella Childhood Cancer Foundation. In July 2026, the company published a response to an ASCO clinical notice clarifying the status of functional precision medicine [0][1][2].
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
The company positions xDRIVE as a first-in-kind oncology decision support system and describes its live-cell approach as the first and only platform able to test up to 150+ FDA-approved therapies and combinations in parallel across both liquid and solid cancers. It operates in the functional precision medicine (FPM) segment of precision oncology, a field for which ASCO issued a clarification notice in 2026 [0][1].
The company states that its live-cell approach is the first and only platform capable of testing up to 150+ FDA-approved therapies and combinations in parallel on both liquid and solid cancers, and that xDRIVE is a first-in-kind decision support system combining functional drug validation, genomic sequencing and AI-based cancer weakness mapping, with an average 10-day turnaround [0][1].
Technology
The xDRIVE (Ex Vivo Drug Response Identification & Validation Engine) platform integrates ex vivo functional drug testing on live cancer cells, DNA and RNA sequencing to identify molecular markers, and AI/causal machine-learning "cancer weakness mapping" to predict likely effective treatments. The company describes it as capable of testing up to 150+ FDA-approved therapies and combinations in parallel against both liquid and solid cancers, returning results in approximately 10 days or less. The AI framework was designed by co-founder and CTO Noah Berlow [0][1][3].
Go-to-market
The company markets directly through separate channels for patients and caregivers, physicians, and industry partners, working alongside a patient's existing care team to test and validate treatment options. It emphasizes published studies and collaborations with cancer centers and academic medical institutions, and cites demonstrations with industry partners for its drug sensitivity testing and causal ML platform [0][1].
Cancer patients and their caregivers, particularly those whose standard treatment options have been exhausted or whose disease has relapsed; treating oncologists and physicians seeking patient-specific treatment planning data; and pharmaceutical and biotech companies running early-stage drug development programs [0][1][2].
Geography
Listed contact address at 11740 SW 80th St, Suite 102, Miami, Florida. Funding announced in connection with the company was earmarked in part for establishing a laboratory in Florida, and the company describes collaborations with cancer centers and academic medical institutions across the United States [0][1][3].
History
Founded in 2018 as a biotech start-up focused on individualized, prospective treatment planning technologies for medical oncology. In connection with a $6 million investment from Vidal Duart Enterprises with co-investment from Techstars, the company said it would expand operations and establish a commercial laboratory in Florida, the state where its technology was invented. In June 2026, Raymond Rodriguez-Torres was appointed President to scale the company's functional precision oncology work. In July 2026 the company published a response to an ASCO clinical notice clarifying the status of functional precision medicine [0][1][2][3].
Risks & controversies
In July 2026 the American Society of Clinical Oncology issued a clinical notice clarifying the status of functional precision medicine, the field in which the company operates; First Ascent Biomedical published a response to the notice [0][1].
Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsFirst Ascent Biomedical published a response to an ASCO clinical notice clarifying the status of functional precision medicine.
First Ascent Biomedical announced the appointment of Raymond Rodriguez-Torres as President to scale its functional precision oncology business.
Proceeds from the $6 million investment were designated to support expansion of operations, including establishing a state-of-the-art laboratory in Florida, the company's first commercial lab.
The company announced a $6 million investment from Vidal Duart Enterprises with additional co-investment from Techstars, to be used to expand operations including establishing a laboratory in Florida.
$6M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 7
primary sources listed
- First Ascent Biomedicalfirstascentbio.com · web
7 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does First Ascent Biomedical do?
- Functional precision oncology company whose live-cell xDRIVE platform returns patient-specific cancer treatment insights in about 10 days.
- Who founded First Ascent Biomedical?
- First Ascent Biomedical was founded by Raymond Rodriguez-Torres in 2018.
- Who are First Ascent Biomedical's investors?
- First Ascent Biomedical's investors include Techstars.
- Where is First Ascent Biomedical headquartered?
- First Ascent Biomedical is headquartered in Beaverton, US.