Senticell closed an oversubscribed seed financing approaching $7 million to advance its red blood cell (RBC)-bound nucleic acid liquid biopsy platform licensed from the University of Pennsylvania. The company’s approach is based on research indicating RBCs can bind and retain disease-associated DNA and RNA, with Senticell developing diagnostics intended to capture signals that plasma-based tests may miss. Senticell said it has two oncology-related clinical studies enrolling about 300 patients at Penn Medicine, including a presurgical driver detection and recurrence monitoring trial in lung and pancreatic cancer expected to complete in Q1 2027. A second study is evaluating RBC-based in vitro analytical support across head and neck and cervical cancer, with expected results in Q4 2026. The funding adds runway as Senticell works to validate RBC-associated biomarkers against established plasma comparisons and tissue concordance.