First Ascent Biomedical
First Ascent Biomedical is a clinical-stage biotech that uses AI-driven functional precision medicine — combining live-cell drug testing of 150+ therapies, genomic sequencing, and machine learning — to deliver personalized cancer treatment recommendations in roughly 10 days for oncologists, patients, and biopharma partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersMiami, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What First Ascent Biomedical does
First Ascent Biomedical is a clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2018 and headquartered in Miami, Florida, that has developed a Functional Precision Medicine (FPM) platform branded as xDRIVE — the Ex Vivo Drug Response Identification & Validation Engine. The platform combines patient-derived live-cell testing of 150+ FDA-approved therapies and combinations, DNA/RNA genomic sequencing, and AI cancer weakness mapping to deliver personalized cancer treatment recommendations in an average of 10 days. The company's evidence base is anchored by a peer-reviewed Nature Medicine study showing 83% of patients respond better to FPO-guided therapy versus standard of care and 8.5x longer progression-free survival, with the platform clinically validated across 52 cancer types.
The company operates two CLIA-certified laboratories in Miami (the first opened January 2025, the second in September 2025) and is developing two additional CLIA-approved labs at Gannon University's I-HACK facility in Erie, Pennsylvania, targeted for completion in fall 2026. Its customer base spans three segments: oncologists and cancer treatment centers (xDrive), individual cancer patients and caregivers, and biopharmaceutical companies (DxPP for drug development, biomarker discovery, and target identification). Named pharma partners include Roche, GSK, Blueprint Medicines, Prelude Therapeutics, Galera Therapeutics, and MorphoSys, with academic collaborations at institutions such as Florida International University, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, UCLA, UCSF, and Nicklaus Children's Hospital.
The business model is hybrid: clinical testing services to physicians and patients (currently largely subsidized through grants and sponsorships including the $2M Florida Cancer Innovation Fund grant and $350K Fight Colorectal Cancer Foundation grant), plus professional services and a stated licensing/royalty pathway to pharma via the DxPP platform, with FDA Breakthrough Device Designation targeted as part of a three-year commercialization pathway. Total disclosed equity capital is approximately $6.58M (a 2021 round of $580K and a 2025 seed of $6M), augmented by ~$6.5M in non-dilutive grant funding. The company is pursuing Series A financing to scale.
First Ascent Biomedical firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- First Ascent Biomedical
- Legal name
- First Ascent Biomedical Inc.
- Website
- https://firstascentbiomedical.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- First Ascent Biomedical is a clinical-stage biotech that uses AI-driven functional precision medicine — combining live-cell drug testing of 150+ therapies, genomic sequencing, and machine learning — to deliver personalized cancer treatment recommendations in roughly 10 days for oncologists, patients, and biopharma partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
First Ascent Biomedical industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Precision Oncology Services
- NAICS
- Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (62151), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Oncology Pathways & Precision Medicine Decision Support (HLACAGAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Molecular Tumor Boards & Clinical Interpretation Services (HLAAANAD), Clinical Biomarker Testing Services (central labs, trial enrollment/monitoring assays) (HLAAAMAC), Multiplex & High-Throughput Diagnostics Platforms (microarrays, digital PCR, lab automation-enabled assays) (HLAAALAL), Precision Clinical Trials Enablement (patient matching, site matching, adaptive trials) (HLAAANAI), AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization (HLAGAJAO)
Keywords
Where First Ascent Biomedical is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Miami
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
First Ascent Biomedical business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Clinical Testing Services: Provides patient-specific drug sensitivity testing through CLIA-certified laboratories, generating actionable treatment reports for oncologists. Free testing offered to eligible patients through sponsorships and grants.
- Pharmaceutical Drug Development Services: Offers pharmaceutical companies biomarker discovery, target identification, and drug development support using the platform's functional testing and AI capabilities.
- DxPP (Drug Response Prediction Platform): Delivers critical insights for pharma and biotech to shorten early-stage drug development timelines and reduce investment, positioning for commercialization through FDA Breakthrough Device Designation pathway.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Free testing for eligible Florida residents |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
First Ascent Biomedical product offering
Product offeringCore offering
First Ascent Biomedical delivers personalized cancer treatment recommendations through its xDRIVE Functional Precision Medicine platform, which combines patient-derived live-cell drug sensitivity testing (against 150+ FDA-approved therapies and combinations), DNA/RNA genomic sequencing, and AI cancer weakness mapping. Services are delivered through CLIA-certified laboratories to oncologists, cancer patients, and biopharma partners, with treatment insights returned in approximately 10 days.
Product overview
First Ascent Biomedical offers the xDRIVE platform—a unified Functional Precision Medicine system comprising two integrated applications: xDrive for patients and oncologists, and DxPP for pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The platform combines functional drug validation (live tumor cell testing against 150+ FDA-approved therapies), genomic sequencing (DNA/RNA analysis), and AI-driven cancer weakness mapping to deliver personalized treatment recommendations in approximately 10 days. The company operates as a CLIA-certified clinical-stage biotech providing both direct clinical decision support services and drug development partnership programs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- xDRIVE (Ex Vivo Drug Response Identification & Validation Engine): Oncology decision support system combining functional drug validation, genomic sequencing, and AI cancer weakness mapping to provide patient-specific treatment recommendations.
- DxPP
Products and services
- xDRIVE Functional Precision Medicine Platform First-in-kind oncology decision support platform combining functional drug validation (live-cell testing of 150+ FDA-approved therapies and combinations), DNA/RNA genomic sequencing, and AI cancer weakness mapping to deliver patient-specific treatment recommendations for solid and liquid cancers in approximately 10 days.
- xDrive Patient and Oncologist Application Patient- and oncologist-facing application that delivers evidence of how an individual tumor responds to FDA-approved drugs in approximately 10 days, enabling faster, more effective personalized care for patients who have exhausted standard treatment options.
- DxPP (Drug Prediction Platform) for Pharma and Biotech Pharmaceutical and biotech-facing drug sensitivity testing and causal machine learning platform that delivers critical insights to shorten early-stage drug development timelines, reduce investment, and support biomarker discovery and target identification for biopharma partners.
- Functional Precision Medicine Clinical Testing Services CLIA-certified laboratory services that screen patient-derived live tumor cells against 150+ FDA-approved therapies and combinations in parallel, generating personalized drug sensitivity reports delivered to oncologists in approximately 10 days.
Quantifiable outcome
- 83% of patients respond better to FPO-guided therapy compared to doctors' choice or standard of care
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use First Ascent Biomedical
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
First Ascent Biomedical technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature5 records
First Ascent Biomedical partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, major and core.
- Gannon UniversityflagshipCollaboration to develop two new laboratories in Gannon's I-HACK building in Erie, PA. First Ascent will occupy 3,000 sq ft of lab space and 2,000 sq ft for offices, expected to handle 20,000 patients annually. Project total cost $6.5 million.
- Saint Vincent Hospital (AHN Cancer Institute)flagshipPartnership to establish 3,000 sq ft laboratory in Gannon's I-HACK to augment existing lab and expand medical laboratory science program.
- Nicklaus Children's HospitalmajorPediatric hospital where Logan received treatment, integrating personalized FPM findings into real-world pediatric cancer care.
- Florida International University (FIU)coreAcademic partner providing scientific leadership; research conducted in FIU's cutting-edge translational oncology labs where technology was developed by co-founder Dr. Diana Azzam.
- CancerXmajorSelected into CancerX 2025 Driving Innovation in Oncology Cohort. CancerX is a groundbreaking public-private partnership designed to accelerate innovation in oncology.
- RochemajorPharmaceutical partner collaborating with First Ascent for drug development and biomarker identification services.
- GSKmajorPharmaceutical partner for drug development and biomarker discovery using functional precision medicine platform.
- Blueprint MedicinesmajorPharmaceutical partner for targeted therapy development and biomarker identification.
- Prelude TherapeuticsmajorPharmaceutical partner for cancer drug development using functional testing platform.
- Galera TherapeuticsmajorBiopharmaceutical partner for cancer therapy development.
- MorphoSysmajorPharmaceutical partner for oncology drug development.
- Children's Cancer Therapy Development InstitutemajorPartner in combining engineering and biology to more effectively drive informed decisions for pharmaceutical companies, reducing time and costs in drug development.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
First Ascent Biomedical competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tempus AI: AI-driven precision medicine platform offering genomic sequencing and clinical decision support for oncologists. Closest comparable to xDRIVE's combination of molecular profiling, AI analytics, and oncology clinical workflow integration, though with deeper genomic focus rather than functional live-cell testing.
- Caris Life Sciences: Molecular profiling company offering DNA/RNA sequencing plus AI-driven precision oncology insights for treatment selection. Comparable in combining multi-omic data with clinical decision support, and serves similar biopharma partners for biomarker discovery.
- Strata Oncology: Precision oncology platform providing molecular profiling and treatment recommendations for advanced cancer patients. Comparable business model combining clinical testing with pharma services for trial enrollment and biomarker discovery.
- Notable Labs: Functional precision medicine company using ex vivo drug sensitivity testing to predict patient response to cancer therapies. Direct comparable in the functional/live-cell testing approach for personalized oncology treatment selection.
- Champions Oncology: Oncology platform offering patient-derived xenograft (PDX) and ex vivo drug sensitivity testing services for pharma and clinical applications. Comparable in functional precision medicine testing model serving both clinical and biopharma customers.
Broad incumbents
- Foundation Medicine: Roche subsidiary providing comprehensive genomic profiling for solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Established market leader in oncology molecular testing with extensive reimbursement, directly competing for oncologist mindshare and clinical decision support workflows.
- Guardant Health: Liquid biopsy and precision oncology company with established commercial labs and FDA-approved tests. Relevant peer for CLIA lab operations and oncology testing infrastructure, though focused on blood-based rather than functional cell-based approaches.
Emerging players
- Personalis: Cancer genomics company offering tumor profiling and ctDNA testing for oncology treatment selection and pharma clinical trial support. Comparable in serving both clinical oncology and biopharma drug development customers.
- Resolution Bioscience: Liquid biopsy and precision oncology company (acquired by Agilent) focused on next-generation sequencing-based oncology testing. Comparable as a clinical oncology diagnostics platform serving pharma and clinical customers.
- Lantern Pharma: AI-driven oncology drug development company using machine learning to accelerate cancer therapy development. Comparable in combining AI/ML with oncology drug development, though focused on proprietary drug pipeline rather than diagnostic services.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
First Ascent Biomedical social profiles
Digital presenceFirst Ascent Biomedical compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
First Ascent Biomedical financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
First Ascent Biomedical leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
First Ascent Biomedical funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
First Ascent Biomedical M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about First Ascent Biomedical
What does First Ascent Biomedical do?
First Ascent Biomedical delivers personalized cancer treatment recommendations through its xDRIVE Functional Precision Medicine platform, which combines patient-derived live-cell drug sensitivity testing (against 150+ FDA-approved therapies and combinations), DNA/RNA genomic sequencing, and AI cancer weakness mapping. Services are delivered through CLIA-certified laboratories to oncologists, cancer patients, and biopharma partners, with treatment insights returned in approximately 10 days.
Is First Ascent Biomedical a public or private company?
First Ascent Biomedical is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was First Ascent Biomedical founded?
First Ascent Biomedical was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is First Ascent Biomedical based?
First Ascent Biomedical is headquartered in Miami, United States, in the North America region.
How does First Ascent Biomedical make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Clinical Testing Services are the primary driver. The others are pharmaceutical Drug Development Services and dxPP (Drug Response Prediction Platform).
Who are First Ascent Biomedical's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tempus AI, Caris Life Sciences, Strata Oncology, Notable Labs and Champions Oncology. Broad incumbents are Foundation Medicine and Guardant Health. Emerging players are Personalis, Resolution Bioscience and Lantern Pharma.
Does First Ascent Biomedical have an API?
No public API is recorded for First Ascent Biomedical.
What industry is First Ascent Biomedical in?
First Ascent Biomedical's product category is Precision Oncology Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLACAGAH, Oncology Pathways & Precision Medicine Decision Support, with a secondary code of HLAAANAD, Molecular Tumor Boards & Clinical Interpretation Services. Its NAICS code is 62151 and its SIC code is 8071.