GambitBio: empowering early detection at home

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you came to set up GambitBio?   

I did my undergrad (molecular cell biology) and masters (translational medicine) at UC Berkeley in California and then I came to the UK to do my PhD in oncology at the University of Oxford. I started my postdoc in 2023 and I created GambitBio as part of my entry for University of Oxford’s All-Innovate business idea competition.

What real-world challenge do you want to address?   

We want to empower everyday people to take control of their health, because depending on which healthcare system you're in, whichever country you're in, there are varying degrees of access to healthcare and not everyone is able to conveniently undertake routine or preventive exams.

GambitBio exists to push for early detection and reduce the number of cancer-related deaths. We want people to be able to detect what is wrong earlier so clinicians can intervene and treat the problem sooner. Early detection can give people up to 95% survival rate over a 10-year period for certain cancer types.

What motivates you as an entrepreneur?  

I want to use what I've learned from academic research and my scientific career so far to improve people's lives by creating a novel product. This means combining scientific thinking with a commercial mindset, which I enjoy a lot. As a scientific entrepreneur, I’m motivated by the excitement of putting what I know in novel science or tech into the commercial setting where I can create a novel product that addresses an unmet need in real life. It’s also the opportunity to work with really smart and passionate people from different parts of the innovation ecosystem including investors, scientists, clinicians, lawyers, academics, founders, manufacturers and more…

What success have you seen so far?  

During the Venture Builder Incubator programme, I was able to gather initial investment from angel investors. This was largely because of the help I got from the Venture Builder Incubator team, who taught me how to pitch effectively by telling a captivating story. They advised me to tone down the technical language when speaking to investors because most of them don’t come from a scientific background. This audience needs to understand the product, market and our business model more than anything else.

How did your partnership with Cancer Research Horizons enhance your experience with the Venture Builder Incubator?  

It was a privilege to be sponsored by Cancer Research Horizons. The financial support we received as part of the programme was very helpful because without that, we couldn't have travelled to Edinburgh this frequently to meet other people in the innovation ecosystem, including entrepreneurs, investors, stakeholders from all across the UK. It can’t be overstated how important it is to meet people in person rather than on Zoom. Many amazing entrepreneurs from the University of Edinburgh and the wider Scottish ecosystem have opened up doors for us with angel investors, and fellow founders.

What role have the University of Edinburgh, Cancer Research Horizons and Venture Builder Incubator played in your entrepreneurial journey?   

It demystified entrepreneurship for our team, as we met like-minded entrepreneurs who are also just getting started. It made the entire process less scary, and it felt good to have a friendly community filled with people who want to help each other.

What's next for GambitBio?  

We've had a great year so far! After winning the Best Oncology Pitch Prize at VBI Cohort 3.0, we won several more prizes at #StartedInOxford Demo Night, Conception X, OX1 Incubator and more recently four Acceleration Prizes from VCs at Techstars Berlin's Deep Tech Momentum last month.

Most importantly, we completed our pilot clinical study in prostate cancer patients, identifying an unprecedented number of protein IDs and differentially expressed biomarkers. We are currently filing a patent based on this study and raising pre-seed funding. Interested angels and investors can contact GambitBio at [email protected].

To learn more about GambitBio, visit Gambit.bio.