HAYWARD — Aqtual, Inc., a precision medicine company using its novel active chromatin cell-free DNA (cfDNA) platform to develop products for chronic diseases and oncology, has raised $31 million in Series B funding. Three new investors, including Bold Capital and Bold Longevity Growth Fund, joined previous investors Genoa Ventures, Manta Ray Ventures, and Yu Galaxy in participating in the oversubscribed round. Additional capital was also provided by a strategic investor in the diagnostics space, further strengthening Aqtual’s ability to advance the platform and its applications as it moves towards the commercialization of Aqtual’s first flagship product: a therapy response prediction test in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Aqtual is actively enrolling RA patients in a prospective observational clinical trial, PRIMA-102 (ID NCT05936970). The trial, with more than 1,300 patients enrolled, has delivered initial proof-of-concept data and is expected to be completed in Q4 2025. RA treatment remains highly individualized, with many patients cycling through multiple therapies before achieving disease control. In the U.S. alone, RA contributes over $19 billion annually in direct healthcare costs, excluding the broader burden of reduced quality of life, disability, and premature mortality.
“The Aqtual team combines deep technical brilliance with remarkable resilience and ingenuity,” said Lawrence Barclay, Managing Partner at Manta Ray. “Over the past year, we’ve seen powerful signals of technical and early commercial validation – not only in their lead indication, but across a broad range of chronic diseases and cancers – demonstrating the platform’s potential for wide-reaching impact in molecular diagnostics. It’s been a pleasure to work with them over the years, and Manta Ray is excited to support this next pivotal step toward commercialization.”
Aqtual’s proprietary active chromatin cfDNA platform is the first to integrate DNA, epigenetic regulation, and protein-DNA binding in a single, blood-based assay. Its proprietary approach enables high-fidelity quantification of tissue-specific gene regulation directly from blood through integrated profiling of disease, microenvironment, and systemic immune response.
“This raise marks a key inflection point for cfDNA diagnostics—not just for Aqtual, but for the broader field,” said Diana Abdueva, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Aqtual. “Our platform uniquely captures the biology of chronic disease, enabling deeper insights to support more effective treatment planning strategies. With this funding, strengthened by backing from a strategic partner, we’re positioned to advance our internal pipeline and forge new partnerships that extend the impact of our platform across disease areas.”
