Meet Oncoparse: Building Targeted, Actionable Tumour Intelligence for Pancreatic Cancer
Bailey Thomas
Pancreatic cancer is one of Australia’s deadliest cancers, with fewer than one in seven patients surviving five years. After losing his grandfather to the disease, Oncoparse co-founder Martin Thompson was shocked to learn how many others in his community had been affected. Having founded two startups before, he set out to find where better information could change outcomes for patients. Oncoparse is building a liquid biopsy that reads circulating tumour DNA from a single blood draw, giving clinicians a detailed view of the cancer at every step, from diagnosis through treatment and surveillance.
Their targeted assay reads mutations, methylation and fragment patterns in tumour DNA, showing clinicians whether treatment is working and whether the cancer has returned. With this technology, Oncoparse is setting the foundations for a future that prevents missed or delayed recurrence diagnosis, improving the opportunity for survival for pancreatic cancer patients.
Alongside co-founders Dr Julian Choi, and Dr Omar Dabash, the Oncoparse team brings diverse expertise across medtech, genomics, AI and pancreatic cancer care. Martin brings almost a decade of experience building and commercialising medical technologies, with experience spanning fundraising, regulatory strategy and market entry. Omar brings experience in clinical genomics, AI and bioinformatics, having supported more than 90 healthtech innovators. In addition, Julian brings over 16 years of specialist hepatopancreatobiliary surgical experience, providing direct clinical insight into pancreatic cancer diagnosis and treatment. Together, they combine technical, commercial and clinical expertise to translate innovative science into meaningful patient impact.
Oncoparse entered the MedTech Actuator Accelerator with promising science, clinical evidence and strong relationships, but the challenge was turning those individual strengths into a company with a clear path to market. The program gave the team the space and expertise to step back, challenge their assumptions and connect the pieces. Working with experienced industry experts, they sharpened their commercial strategy, explored new approaches to market entry and positioning, and began to see the opportunity beyond pancreatic cancer towards a broader pan-cancer platform. Through the program, they strengthened their IP and regulatory strategy, clarified their product pathway and built the foundations of an investor-ready company, including a comprehensive data room to support their next stage of growth and fundraising.
“The biggest value was access to industry experts who have watched countless biotech and medtech startups grow from founding to maturity. There is no other network or experience like it in the country.” - Martin Thompson, Co-founder Oncoparse.
Oncoparse is now actively scaling its operations and preparing for the next stage of growth, starting with a Melbourne laboratory operations expansion to enable increased scientific and bioinformatics hours. They have also partnered with the Australian Genome Research Facility to support production sequencing, with Co-Labs continuing as its R&D base. The company has also opened an AU$1.5M pre-seed round, with this capital supporting the team as it advances its technology and clinical validation. A key achievement for Oncoparse has been the research collaboration with Epworth HealthCare for PANDIAT, an ethics-approved prospective study following pancreatic cancer patients through diagnosis, treatment and surveillance. With 90 participants and approximately 720 samples, alongside a biobank feasibility study with the Jreissati Pancreatic Centre, the collaboration provides an important foundation for generating clinical evidence as Oncoparse progresses towards its next stage.
Looking ahead, Oncoparse is focused on securing its seed funding, strengthening its scientific capabilities and advancing its clinical validation. With a strong foundation now in place, the team is building towards the next stage of its journey, translating its technology into meaningful clinical impact.
“The MedTech Actuator took Oncoparse from strong individual pieces and turned them into one coherent company. Working through the nuances of pricing, market penetration and launch with people who have seen countless medtech and biotech startups grow, and widening our horizon to pan-cancer… gave us an investor-ready package for our next phase of growth." - Martin Thompson, Co-founder Oncoparse.