Caris Life Sciences targets US$ 5B+ valuation in NASDAQ IPO

USA – Caris Life Sciences is preparing to go public with a US$ 5.1 billion valuation, marking one of the largest IPOs in the health tech sector.

The company, which specializes in AI-driven cancer diagnostics and drug discovery, has proposed selling 23.5 million shares at a price range of US$ 16 to US$ 18 per share, raising approximately US$ 400 million in the process.

While early-stage drug developers have struggled with IPOs this quarter, digital health and biotech firms have seen more success.

Caris follows the recent public listings of Omada Health and Hinge Health, which raised US$ 150 million and US$ 437 million, respectively.

Caris uses next-generation sequencing and AI technologies to develop both blood- and tissue-based cancer diagnostics.

A major revenue driver is MI Profile, a tissue-based molecular profiling solution that includes immunohistochemistry protein expression testing.

One key product, MI Cancer Seek, was FDA-approved to identify patients with breast, colorectal, or endometrial cancers, as well as melanoma and lung cancer, who may benefit from targeted therapies like Merck’s Keytruda and GSK’s Jemperli.

The technology generates over 28.8 billion datapoints, spanning 84,000 molecular markers per case.

Expanding innovation with blood-based diagnostics

Building on the success of MI Cancer Seek, Caris developed Caris Assure, a blood-based diagnostic tool for early cancer detection, recurrence monitoring, and treatment recommendations.

The company claims that Assure has the most comprehensive gene coverage on the market, analyzing over 23,000 genes—far more than competing blood-based tests, which typically assess 500 to 1,000 genes.

Unlike many other tests, Caris Assure sequences genomic DNA and RNA from white blood cells to identify incidental germline and clonal hematopoiesis (CH) mutations.

Caris integrates AI and machine learning with these findings to provide diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive insights in a single test.

Drug discovery and biopharma partnerships

Beyond diagnostics, Caris is actively involved in therapeutic discovery, using its multi-omic data and AI platform to uncover new treatment targets.

The company is working on developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), protein degraders, synthetic lethality therapies, and cell treatments.

Caris has established partnerships with Moderna, AbbVie, Xencor, and Merck KGaA, with the latter signing an ADC discovery deal worth up to US$ 1.4 billion last year.

Caris is also developing ChromoSeq, an advanced cancer assay that utilizes whole-genome sequencing, as well as ESPai, an AI-powered tool designed to predict early-stage breast cancer recurrence.

As Caris moves closer to its IPO, the company hopes to expand its AI-driven cancer solutions, strengthen its position in drug discovery, and set new standards in precision medicine.