CanCertain

What CanCertain does

CanCertain Ltd is a UK-based, privately held diagnostic laboratory founded in 2017 (originally as Clyz Labs Ltd, rebranded to CanCertain Ltd in 2021) by Dr Himanshu Kataria. The company operates a single Runcorn laboratory supported by a new Manchester office at Manchester Science Park and a corporate office in Ahmedabad, India. It develops and sells personalised cancer treatment selection tests for patients with solid tumours at any stage, applying advanced 3D cell culture techniques to grow patient-derived tumour cells into structures that mimic the in-vivo tumour microenvironment, then exposing them to chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy drug panels to identify the most effective option. Clinical trials at three NHS hospitals involving more than 75 patients demonstrated an improvement in treatment response rate from a baseline of 55% to 90%, and the company cites a 90% accuracy rate on its website. All tests are delivered within an 8-working-day turnaround after biopsy receipt.

The commercial offering is structured as a tiered self-pay service: Single Drug Test, Single Drug Combination, Any Four Treatment Regimens, Panel of 10 Drugs (with or without immunotherapy), Immunotherapy Testing Only, and a Full Panel combining tumour and blood testing, priced in INR for the Indian market (₹249,990 for the Panel of 10 Drugs). Payment is required in advance and private health insurance does not currently cover the test in the UK. Distribution is hybrid: direct-to-patient e-commerce via the CanCertain website coexisting with an oncologist-mediated pathway, where samples are collected by clinicians and shipped to the Runcorn lab, with results emailed to both patient and oncologist. Distribution is supported by a Cancer Expert Network of oncologists across Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Gurugram, Delhi and the UK, plus add-on services including a Personalised Cancer Treatment Plan, free counselling, and a Second Opinion Service.

The company is pre-Series A, having raised undisclosed seed capital in two 2018 tranches (SEIS/EIS from individual clinicians in March and from Catapult Ventures via the GM&C Life Sciences Fund in August). Scientific governance is provided by a Scientific Advisory Board including Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, Dr Olivier Pardo, Professor Simon Jackson, and Dr Violaine See, and a board that includes Dr David Whitcombe (co-founder of DxS Diagnostics) and Dr Dorai Ramanathan. Headcount sits in the 11–50 range, consistent with a small specialised laboratory plus UK-India commercial operations.

Name

CanCertain

Legal name

CanCertain Ltd

Website

https://cancertain.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CanCertain Ltd is a UK-based diagnostic laboratory that runs 3D cell culture-based chemosensitivity tests on patient solid tumours to recommend personalised chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy regimens, sold self-pay to patients and oncologists across the UK and India.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Personalized Cancer Diagnostics

NAICS

Medical Laboratories (621511), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (6215), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413)

SIC

Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro primary industry

Companion Diagnostics (CDx) & Therapy Selection Assays (HLAAALAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Oncology Diagnostics (tumor profiling, MRD, liquid biopsy) (HLAAALAE), Clinical Biomarker Testing Services (central labs, trial enrollment/monitoring assays) (HLAAAMAC)

Keywords

• Personalized cancer diagnostics
• 3D cell culture testing
• Chemosensitivity testing
• Cancer drug screening
• Oncology laboratory services

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Diagnostic Testing Services: CanCertain generates revenue through sale of cancer diagnostic tests. Tests are sold as one-time purchases with various tiers including Single Drug Test, Single Drug Combination, Any Four Treatment Regimens, Panel of 10 Drugs, and Immunotherapy Testing options. Both blood test only and tumor + blood test combinations are available. Payment is required in advance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CanCertain is a UK-based diagnostic laboratory that offers personalized cancer drug-sensitivity testing using advanced 3D cell culture techniques on patient biopsy samples. Its CanCertain™ test identifies the most effective chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy drug for each patient's solid tumor, with results delivered in 8 working days. The company also provides personalized treatment plans, free counseling, and second opinion services to patients and clinicians.

Product overview

CanCertain is a unified diagnostic platform offering 3D cell culture-based personalised cancer treatment testing. The core product is the CanCertain Test, which is available in multiple configurations including Single Drug Test, Single Drug Combination, Any Four Treatment Regimens, and Panel of 10 Drugs (with options for Immunotherapy Testing). Products are offered across two categories: Blood Test Only and Tumour + Blood Test. Additional services include Personalised Cancer Treatment Plan, Free Counselling, and Second Opinion Service. All tests provide results within 8 working days and are designed to identify optimal chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy for patients with solid tumours.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Single Drug Test Tests the sensitivity of a patient's cancer cells to a single chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy drug, intended for patients with a specific treatment consideration.
• Single Drug Combination Tests the sensitivity of a patient's cancer cells to a single drug-combination treatment regimen (two treatments used together), intended for personalised treatment selection.
• Any Four Treatment Regimens Tests sensitivity of patient cancer cells to any four treatment options (single drugs or combinations) to identify the most effective personalised treatment.
• Panel of 10 Drugs Comprehensive CanCertain test panel covering up to 10 drug options, available with or without immunotherapy testing, for extensive personalised treatment analysis of a patient's solid tumour.
• Immunotherapy Testing Only Standalone immunotherapy sensitivity testing using CanCertain's 3D cell culture technology to identify which immunotherapy drug is most effective for a patient's solid tumour.
• Personalised Cancer Treatment Plan Add-on service that provides patients with a personalised cancer treatment recommendation based on CanCertain test results, integrating drug sensitivity, immunity, and drug resistance analysis.
• Free Counselling Complimentary counselling service that helps CanCertain patients discuss and interpret their personalised treatment options and test results.
• Second Opinion Service Expert consultation service providing a second opinion on a cancer patient's treatment options, delivered through CanCertain's network of cancer experts in the UK and India.

Quantifiable outcome

• Treatment response rate improved from 55% (standard clinical pathway) to 90% (with CanCertain tests) in lung cancer patients
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Spheritech LtdminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 May 2018CLYZ Labs Ltd and Spheritech Ltd entered into a collaboration agreement for joint development activities related to cancer diagnostics technology.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Caris Life Sciences: Caris offers molecular profiling and functional drug-sensitivity testing (Caris Assure, Caris Target Now) used by oncologists to guide therapy selection in solid tumours, making it the closest direct peer in tumour-profiling + therapy-selection diagnostics.
• Champions Oncology: Champions Oncology provides ex-vivo patient-derived tumour models (PDX, tumoroid/3D cultures) and drug-response testing — directly comparable to CanCertain's 3D cell culture-based functional drug sensitivity testing.
• Personalis: Personalis delivers tumour genomic profiling (NeXT Personal, ImmunoID) for solid tumour therapy selection, comparable in serving oncologists seeking molecular guidance for personalised cancer treatment.

Broad incumbents

• Natera: Natera offers molecular testing for oncology (Signatera MRD, tumour profiling) used by oncologists to guide treatment decisions, overlapping with CanCertain's personalised solid-tumour testing category.
• Foundation Medicine (Roche): Foundation Medicine is the established leader in comprehensive genomic profiling of solid tumours for therapy selection; a broad incumbent serving a similar oncologist/patient use case via genomics rather than 3D cell culture.
• Tempus: Tempus combines molecular profiling with AI-driven clinical decision support for oncology, targeting the same oncologist workflow of selecting personalised therapy for solid tumour patients.
• Guardant Health: Guardant provides liquid-biopsy and tissue-based molecular profiling used to guide therapy choice in advanced cancers, overlapping with CanCertain's therapy-selection use case in oncology diagnostics.
• Exact Sciences (Genomic Health): Exact Sciences/Genomic Health markets Oncotype DX and related tumour-profiling tests that guide chemotherapy and targeted-therapy selection in solid tumours — a direct adjacent therapy-selection diagnostic franchise.

Emerging players

• Molecular Partners: Molecular Partners develops DARPin-based oncology therapeutics informed by functional and tumour-biology readouts; thematically adjacent in personalised cancer treatment, though primarily therapeutic rather than diagnostic.

Others

• Charles River Laboratories: Charles River provides cell-based assay development, tumour-model services and preclinical drug-sensitivity testing for oncology programmes — adjacent as an enabling lab-services peer relevant to CanCertain's 3D cell culture assay operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCzQT2ZEpQlJhHN6eNP-LZJQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/CanCertain
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cancertain

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CanCertain