Foresight Diagnostics is a dynamic and innovative cancer diagnostics company. Founded in 2020 and spun out of Stanford University, Foresight has developed a novel liquid biopsy testing platform for the measurement of minimal residual disease that is significantly more sensitive than existing tests. Its technology, called PhasED-SeqTM, is based on a simple blood draw and next-generation sequencing. It is broadly applicable to a variety of cancers, and its ability to detect circulating tumor DNA at levels of 0.0001 percent (or one part-per-million) has the potential to provide actionable information to physicians and biopharmaceutical companies, thus enabling the development of a more proactive and personalized treatment approach.
Goal: Foresight wanted to raise capital and enter into strategic partnerships to support the development and commercialization of its technology.
Process: Foresight turned to Wilson Sonsini as a single source of support for its legal counseling and business advisory needs.
Wilson Sonsini, widely recognized for its expertise in life sciences and for helping life sciences start-ups grow, scale, and achieve successful exits, deployed a cross-practice team, including members from its Technology Transactions, Corporate, Life Sciences Business Advisory, Intellectual Property, and Regulatory practices.
Helmed by Matthew Meyer, Maya Skubatch, Ian Edvalson, and Brent Fassett, this cross-practice team provided comprehensive strategic advisory services. Wilson Sonsini assisted Foresight with:
- Development of a business plan and investor pitch deck
- Key patent in-licensing strategy and execution
- Investor outreach and pharma partnering support
- Patent protection for Foresight’s innovations
- Tax-efficient corporate entity formation
- Ongoing support on business advisory, corporate, transactional, intellectual property, regulatory, and employment matters
Results: With Wilson Sonsini’s support, Foresight closed a Series A financing round of $12.5 million in 2020 and went on to raise a Series B round of $58.75 million in 2023. In addition, Wilson Sonsini has prepared and filed patent applications to cover Foresight’s proprietary technology.
Wilson Sonsini also represented Foresight in forming its strategic partnership with Allogene Therapeutics. Partnering with Allogene, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic CAR T (AlloCARTM) products, Foresight is developing a minimal residual disease in-vitro diagnostic to determine patient eligibility for ALPHA3, the first pivotal trial for first line CAR-T consolidation treatment of large B-cell lymphoma.
Outcome: Foresight is well-positioned to continue its groundbreaking work, and it is developing strategic partnerships to expand the availability of its technology to clinical trials for potentially life-saving cancer treatments.
"Wilson Sonsini was instrumental in helping Foresight achieve several important corporate goals, including our Series A and B financings, establishing a strong IP portfolio, and entering into key strategic partnerships. We appreciated the full array of strategic advisory services and legal counseling provided by Wilson Sonsini’s cross-practice teams."
—Jake Chabon
CEO, Foresight Diagnostics
