PATIENT-SPECIFIC CANCER RESEARCH
One patient.
Valanyr is a research company devoted to one woman with a grade 4 brain tumor. We study her cancer and test treatment ideas in the lab to inform her physicians’ next decisions.
01 / OUR BELIEF
Every cancer is its own disease.
Two tumors in the same organ can be driven by entirely different mutations, and a single tumor changes as it is treated. Standard care is built on what works on average, and that matters. But no patient is the average. We believe the best chance comes from studying one tumor completely: measuring it constantly, testing ideas before they reach the clinic, and changing course as the data change.
02 / HOW WE WORK
How we work.
Measure constantly.
Cerebrospinal fluid, drawn regularly through a small reservoir under her scalp, lets us track tumor DNA, RNA and immune cells over time, sometimes before a scan can show a change.
Test in the lab first.
Promising ideas are tested on her own tumor cells when we can grow them, and on lab models built to carry her tumor's mutations when we can't.
Work beside her physicians.
Valanyr does research, not medical care. Her physicians treat her; our job is to give them the best evidence we can, as fast as we can.
Work in the open.
With her consent, her full dataset will be released publicly, so any researcher can learn from it.
03 / WHERE WE'RE STARTING
Where we're starting
Mapping her tumor cell by cell, from stored tissue and cerebrospinal fluid
Tracking the disease through her cerebrospinal fluid
Attempting to grow her tumor cells in the lab
Validating targets for vaccines and cell therapies
Measuring which drugs reach her brain, and at what levels
04 / OPEN DATA
Her data, open to all.
Deeply measured cases move science forward when others can study them. Following the example of osteosarc.com, we will publish her sequencing, imaging and lab data for anyone to use.
05 / CAREERS AT VALANYR
Join us as our first scientist.
We're hiring a Lead Scientist in translational neuro-oncology to own this program from day one: bench work, liquid biopsy, outsourced studies, and the science behind every option her physicians consider. The role is fully funded for two years, based in Los Angeles, and unlike any job in a grant-funded lab.
Posting coming soon
06 / COLLABORATE
Work with us.
If you run a lab or core facility, or have a technology or investigational drug that could help, we'd like to talk. We move quickly and share what we learn.