New Liquid Biopsy Platform Uses Red Blood Cells to Detect Hidden Cancer Signals

Plasma-based liquid biopsy can miss clinically actionable tumor signals, particularly in early-stage disease and low-shedding tumors, limiting its utility for routine monitoring. Clinical laboratories need approaches that improve detection sensitivity while preserving simple blood draw workflows. Building on this need, a new red blood cell-based liquid biopsy platform is designed to capture disease-associated nucleic acids that plasma assays may miss, supporting driver detection and recurrence surveillance.

Senticell, Inc. (Philadelphia, PA, USA) is advancing a liquid biopsy platform exclusively licensed from the University of Pennsylvania and rooted in more than a decade of peer-reviewed research showing that red blood cells bind and retain disease-associated DNA and RNA. The company has now closed an oversubscribed seed financing round approaching $7 million, led by The Venture City, Capital Factory, Scalpel Ventures, and Evoce Capital, with additional participation from individual investors. Proceeds will support multiple oncology studies to evaluate the platform’s clinical utility.

The approach leverages the biology of red blood cells (RBCs), the body’s most abundant cell type, which circulate for roughly 120 days and contact every tissue. By isolating and rapidly analyzing RBC‑associated nucleic acids, including oncogenic driver mutations, the platform is designed to access a molecular reservoir that can reduce liquid biopsy detection limits. The company reports it is advancing a proprietary workflow to identify clinically actionable disease signals that plasma‑based tests may miss and to enable more consistent application in early‑stage and low‑shedding tumor states.

Two prospective clinical studies at Penn Medicine, together totaling approximately 300 patients, are comparing the RBC signal with plasma-based testing and assessing concordance with tissue findings. One actively enrolling study at the University of Pennsylvania includes 200 lung and pancreatic cancer patients and is evaluating pre-surgical driver detection and recurrence monitoring, with completion targeted for the first quarter of 2027. 

In parallel, RBC-based in vitro analytical support is being provided for a study of about 100 head and neck and cervical cancer patients across the University of Pennsylvania and UPenn-Botswana to evaluate minimal residual disease and post-treatment monitoring, with results expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Foundational work under a Sponsored Research Agreement with Penn Medicine is establishing rapid, culture‑independent pathogen detection for sepsis and pneumonia on the RBC platform, which the company expects to formalize into a dedicated clinical study following oncology proof‑of‑concept results. The program is supported by a scientific advisory board and an exclusive, worldwide license to the RBC platform from the University of Pennsylvania.

“Decades of research suggested that red blood cells were doing far more than carrying oxygen. Our discovery that red blood cells bind nucleic acids revealed that they could provide a distinct window into disease—one that may capture information not readily accessible through conventional liquid biopsies. Importantly, we recognized that this biology could be harnessed for diagnostics. That insight led to the development of a new technology to isolate and rapidly analyze RBC-associated nucleic acids, including oncogenic driver mutations. We are now building on this discovery to develop a reliable diagnostic platform with the potential to transform cancer detection and improve patient lives,” said Dr. Nilam Mangalmurti, scientific co‑founder of Senticell and Chief Scientific Advisor.

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