Senticell Closes $7M Seed for Red Blood Cell Biopsy
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Senticell has closed an oversubscribed Seed round of nearly $7 million, announced on September 1, 2026. The Venture City, Capital Factory, Scalpel Ventures and Evoce Capital took part, along with a group of high net worth individuals.
The company is based in Philadelphia, and it is building a new class of liquid biopsy.
The idea rests on red blood cells. Senticell’s platform is built on nucleic acids bound to red blood cells, drawing on more than a decade of published, peer-reviewed research showing that red blood cells actively bind and retain disease-associated DNA and RNA. The company holds an exclusive worldwide license to the foundational platform from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Nilam Mangalmurti, scientific co-founder and chief scientific advisor, led part of that underlying research. Neha Shah is co-founder and chief executive.
The money funds multiple clinical studies in oncology, which is the step that turns a licensed platform into a diagnostic a physician can order.
The company is a biotech built directly on licensed academic work. Its Pennsylvania location puts it in the same city as the university that developed the science.
Suppliers and CROs selling into early-stage diagnostics companies can reach newly funded buyers through Life Science Lead Generation.