Today’s cancer treatments were built for a world where every tumor looked the same, but in reality, every patient’s cancer is genetically unique. That’s why standard therapies like chemotherapy often stop working, especially in deadly cancers such as pancreatic, colorectal, lung, and glioblastoma. BreakBio is solving this problem by using advanced AI to design personalized cancer drugs tailored to each patient’s individual tumor. With your support, we can launch our first clinical trial at MD Anderson and prove that this breakthrough approach saves lives. Join us in bringing truly personalized cancer treatment to the patients who need it most. Your contribution today helps make that future real.
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The problem with today’s standard cancer treatments, like chemotherapy, is that they’re extremely harsh and often stop working once the cancer spreads.
In many of the cancers BreakBio focuses on, such as pancreatic, colorectal, lung, triple negative breast cancer, sarcomas, and glioblastoma, every patient’s cancer looks different at the cellular level. Even within a single tumor, there can be many different kinds of cancer cells. This means one-size-fits-all treatments rarely cure the disease.
Chemotherapy might shrink a tumor for a while, but the cancer usually comes back because not all cancer cells are the same. We needed a smarter, more targeted approach.
BreakBio was launched to change how we fight cancer. We brought together world-class cancer experts and cutting-edge AI technology to design truly personalized cancer drugs for each patient.
Our AI platform can now create and manufacture custom medicines that target a patient’s unique cancer – drugs designed to work better, faster, and for more people than traditional treatments ever could.
We need funding to launch our first clinical trial. This trial will be the crucial step that shows our personalized drugs truly work.
Our strategy is bold but efficient: start with three smaller trials in rare cancers, which qualify for special FDA incentives, and then expand to treat all solid cancers. This approach could be a true game changer for cancer care.
Our first trial will take place at MD Anderson, one of the world’s leading cancer hospitals. It will test BreakBio’s BreakVax, our personalized cancer drug, combined with chemotherapy and Keytruda, against today’s standard treatments for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and leiomyosarcoma.
Every dollar brings us closer to launching this pivotal first trial at MD Anderson. Here’s how the initial $1 million will be used:
We’re in an excellent position to begin. BreakBio already has an FDA-approved IND, and we’ll be filing a new protocol for pancreatic cancer within the next month to start our clinical trial at MD Anderson. Our principal investigator at MD Anderson is on board, and the contract process with the hospital is underway.
Our software platform has been in development for over five years, fully tested and ready. Manufacturing systems are in place, and key team members are already onboard. We’ve even treated two patients under compassionate use, confirming that our process, from design to delivery, works smoothly and safely.
BreakBio won’t fall into the “valley of death” where so many promising cancer innovations fade away. Too many lives are being lost—and we know we can help save them.
We’ve already built the technology and proven it works in compassionate use patients. Now, it’s time to bring this personalized treatment to more people who urgently need it.
Our next step is clear: launch the clinical trial, prove that our personalized cancer drugs are true game changers, and secure FDA approval so patients everywhere can benefit.
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Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Roy de Souza is a successful technology entrepreneur, who previously founded and ran Zedo, a world renowned ad-serving platform. When his wife was diagnosed with colon cancer, he changed his life focus to curing difficult metastatic cancers for the sake of patients and their families. As a founder of BreakBio Corp., he leverages his experience in cloud based software into personalized medicine which uses hugely complex AI software to analyze cancer cells from one patient and design a unique set of “drugs’” for only that patient. That drug is then manufactured for just that individual patient. Roy is passionate about technology and moving the world forward. He likes reading (now listening to audio books) and traveling, and he looks forward to being able to travel to the beach and go on safari in Kenya where he was born.
Cheif Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer
Kim Nancarrow is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in financial and operational leadership. As a self-employed industry consultant since January 2020, Kim has honed organizational skills across various projects. Prior to this, Kim had a significant tenure at Travelport, where roles included VP of Finance Operations for the Americas, VP Finance and Deputy Treasurer, and Sr. Treasury Director. Kim’s leadership was pivotal in managing accounting, payroll, cash management, and compliance, contributing to the financial stability of the $2.5 billion global technology company. Earlier in her career, Kim held key financial planning and analysis roles at Worldspan, where responsibilities included directing cash management and global insurance programs. At Ernst & Young and Arthur Andersen, Kim served as an Audit Manager, solidifying a foundation in financial reporting and audit practices. Kim holds a B.S. in Accounting from Clemson University and is a Certified Public Accountant in Georgia.
Cheif Technology Officer
Dr. David Hawke has significant experience in proteomics and protein chemistry, and is considered a leader in mass spectrometry. Dr. Hawke has special interest in MHC peptides, modified amino acids and post-translational modifications. As former head of MD Anderson’s proteomics facility, he used mass spectrometry to detect antigens for an academic colorectal cancer trial, the only clinical trial ever to do mass spectrometry for each patient, synthesize the peptides vaccine based on this data for each patient, and vaccinate each patient with these tailor made peptides. Additionally, Dr Hawke has held several leadership positions as Senior Applications Scientist, at Applied Biosystems and PerSeptive Biosystems, as Applications Development Manager at BioMolecular Technologies, and Technical Contributor, Protein Chemistry Systems at Hewlett-Packard Co. He has also held roles as Senior Project Chemist, Oxford GlycoSystems Ltd., Abingdon, England, UK., as Scientist, Chemical Research and Development, at Applied Biosystems, and Research Associate, Division of Immunology, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, Duarte, CA. Dr Hawke received a B.S. in Chemistry at M.I.T., Cambridge, followed by a M.S. in Organic Chemistry from CalTech, Pasadena, and a Ph.D. In Bioanalytical Chemistry from the University of the Pacific, Stockton. He is also very widely published having 129 peer reviewed publications, to his credit.
Head of Bioinformatics
Brian Parker is a bioinformatician specializing in the development and optimization of bioinformatics analysis pipelines. Prior to joining BreakBio, Brian was part of GeneCentric Therapeutics, where he developed DNA/RNA/cfDNA analysis pipelines used for biomarker discovery in the precision oncology space. His role involved implementing and validating cutting-edge analytical tools and workflows, supporting innovation in diagnostic test development. In addition to his work at BreakBio, Brian actively contributes to research on neoantigen prediction in the Vincent Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UNC, he uses his expertise in Nextflow development and cancer genomics to expand the offering of analytical tools within the Landscape of Effective Neoantigen Software (LENS). Brian received his M.S. in Bioinformatics from the University of Maine in Orono.
$500 donated by Scott & Lisa Braunstein
$1000 donated by Sheryl Horowitz
