PredicTx Health, a startup from the University of Melbourne, uses AI to customize chemotherapy doses based on a patient’s body composition. The company has raised $1.6 million in funding.
The funding came from the University’s Genesis Pre-Seed Fund, a government grant, and angel investors. PredicTx Health will use the money to launch its world-first AI-powered precision cancer treatment platform.
PredicTx Health was co-founded by Professor Justin Yeung, who is the head of surgery at Western Health, and Abhijeet Waykar, the founder of the global health startup Lenia Health.
The company is based on research from the University of Melbourne and aims to bring innovative AI solutions to cancer treatment.
The project is backed by Western Health, which will host the first clinical validation studies.
Abhijeet Waykar said the investment from Genesis is the University of Melbourne’s endorsement of the commercial viability and global potential of PredicTx’s technology, which uses CT scans and machine learning to analyse a patient’s muscle and bone composition, allowing clinicians to personalise chemotherapy doses rather than relying on the current one-size-fits-all “body surface area” method.
“This raise gives us the momentum to move from research into real-world clinical impact. Our immediate focus is on validating the technology with oncologists and cancer centres in Australia and India, before scaling internationally,” he said.
“The next 12-18 months will be about product readiness, regulatory pathways, and getting PredicTx into the hands of clinicians who need it most.”
Waykar said chemotherapy dosing is one of oncology’s long-standing blind spots underdosing can reduce treatment effectiveness, while overdosing causes toxicity and hospital readmissions. PredicTx’s AI brings together radiomics, clinical data, and predictive modelling to help oncologists find the optimal dose for each patient.
“The funding allows us to complete clinical validation with Western Health, strengthen our AI model’s generalisability across diverse patient populations, and prepare for TGA and CE submissions,” he said.
“We’ll also be expanding the team, both in AI engineering and clinical operations to accelerate deployment.”
Waykar said the launch of PredicTx demonstrates how universities, hospitals, and startup founders can co-create world-changing innovation.
“The Genesis team have been incredible, they don’t just fund companies, they stay in the trenches with you,” he said.
“Their belief in University of Melbourne born innovation and our mission to make cancer care more precise has been the backbone of our journey.”
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