Raymond Rodriguez-Torres Appointed First Ascent Biomedical New President to Scale Functional Precision Oncology

With the mission to help scale Functional Precision Oncology, biotech and pharmaceutical leader brings more than two decades of commercialization experience and a personal mission shaped by his daughter Bella's legacy in childhood cancer advocacy.

MIAMI , June 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- First Ascent Biomedical announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously appointed Raymond Rodriguez-Torres as President, marking a significant milestone in the company's mission to advance Functional Precision Oncology (FPO) and transform cancer treatment through biology-driven, patient-specific decision support. Bringing more than two decades of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals leadership experience, Rodriguez-Torres joins First Ascent at a time when physicians are increasingly seeking better tools to move beyond population-based treatment assumptions and toward decisions informed by each patient's unique cancer biology.

With a track record spanning oncology, cardiology, infectious disease, immunology, transplant medicine, and women's health, Rodriguez-Torres has held leadership roles at major global life sciences organizations, including Genentech, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, and others, where he led commercialization strategy, market development, managed care initiatives, and the launch of breakthrough therapeutics across the United States.

"Raymond Rodriguez-Torres brings a rare combination of commercial expertise, operational discipline, strategic vision, and personal conviction to First Ascent Biomedical," said Jim Foote, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of First Ascent Biomedical. "He understands what is at stake for patients and families because this mission is personal to him. His leadership will be instrumental as we scale our platform, expand strategic partnerships, and accelerate access to Functional Precision Oncology for the patients and physicians who need better answers."

A Career Built Around Access, A Mission Shaped by Loss

At the center of Rodriguez-Torres mission is a deeply personal commitment to advancing cancer care. He also serves as Chairman of the Live Like Bella® Childhood Cancer Foundation, founded in honor of his daughter, Bella. Her legacy continues to inspire global efforts in pediatric cancer research and family support. Under his leadership, the Foundation has supported families in more than 30 countries and helped advance scientific initiatives aimed at improving survival, quality of life, and hope for children battling cancer.

Scaling Functional Precision Oncology

Among his first executive priorities, Rodriguez-Torres will focus on broadening First Ascent Biomedical's Series A funding initiatives and engage experienced strategic partners.  "Cancer care is moving toward a more personalized future, where treatment decisions must be informed by the unique biology of each patient," said Rodriguez-Torres. "First Ascent Biomedical is helping lead that evolution by giving physicians deeper insight before the next treatment decision is made. I am honored to help build a world-class team committed to changing the trajectory of cancer treatment for patients and families everywhere."

Addressing One of Oncology's Most Persistent Challenges

Despite advances in genomics and targeted therapies, many cancer treatment decisions are still guided by population-level assumptions rather than direct evidence of how an individual patient's tumor responds to therapy. This challenge becomes especially significant for patients with relapsed, refractory, or difficult-to-treat cancers, where time and treatment options may be limited.

First Ascent Biomedical's xDRIVE® platform is designed to help close that gap. By combining ex vivo live-cell drug sensitivity testing, genomic analysis, and AI-enabled insights, the platform helps physicians better understand which therapies may be most promising for a patient's unique cancer biology. The goal is not to replace physician judgment, but to provide stronger biological evidence to support more informed treatment decisions.

The company's platform has been applied across 52 cancer types and represents the first clinical application of Functional Precision Oncology to be prospectively validated, peer-reviewed, and published in Nature Medicine. "Beyond supporting more individualized care for pediatric and adult patients, the platform also contributes to pharmaceutical research, biomarker discovery, and oncology drug development," said Rodriguez-Torres. "My focus is to help scale that mission so more families and care teams can access the right treatment when time matters most."

About First Ascent Biomedical
First Ascent Biomedical is a first-of-its-kind oncology decision support platform designed for everyone navigating the uncertainty of cancer treatment decisions. The platform delivers specific, personalized insights beyond genomics alone by integrating ex vivo live-cell drug sensitivity testing, genomic data, and AI-driven cancer pattern recognition, and provides a clinically actionable report in an average of 10 days. The platform is clinically validated and prospectively published in peer-reviewed journals, reinforcing its scientific rigor and real-world applicability. By helping clinicians identify effective therapies and avoid ineffective ones across solid and blood cancers, First Ascent has the potential to improve patient outcomes and response rates, increase healthcare efficiency, and accelerate drug validation across the oncology ecosystem.

For more information, visit firstascentbiomedical.com 

References

• Acanda De La Rocha, A. M., Berlow, N. E., Fader, M., et al. (2024). Feasibility of functional precision medicine for guiding treatment of relapsed or refractory pediatric cancers. Nature Medicine, 30, 990–1000. doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-02848-4
• Live Like Bella Childhood Cancer Foundation. (n.d.). Home. Livelikebella.org/

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SOURCE First Ascent Biomedical