CancerIQ, whose platform targets early cancer detection and prevention across broad patient populations, announced today it closed a $14 million Series B financing round co-led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (Merck GHI) and Amgen Ventures.
The Chicago-based company says its precision health platform, which is being used by clinicians at more than 180 locations across the country, makes it easy to determine a patient’s individual risk of cancer based on family history, genetics, behavior, and other factors, and then connect them to the corresponding care pathways. Those pathways range from MRIs, prophylactic surgeries and vaccinations to at-home screening kits, multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests, lifestyle interventions and other services such as clinical trials, educational materials, and social resources.
CancerIQ says it is embedded directly into EHR workflows so clinicians in any care setting have the latest genomics research, clinical guidelines, and life sciences innovations at their fingertips.
In a May 2021 article, Healthcare Innovation detailed how OSF HealthCare is taking advantage of the platform. CancerIQ offers an online, 5-minute survey that flags vulnerable patients based on a short personal and family history questionnaire. The application gives providers the information they need to quickly investigate the possibility of hereditary cancer for a patient.
Illinois-based OSF HealthCare has found that access to risk assessments and genetic testing and counseling has expanded when these services are offered virtually. It gives people the flexibility to complete assessments and testing at home. The health system says it also improves quality because people have more time to put thought into their responses and call family members to confirm information, leading to a more accurate picture of their risk. It also helps health systems facing a shortage of genetic counselors by enabling nurse practitioners to lead the process.
“We have nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants who have been trained in risk assessment and genetic counseling,” explained Michele Settelmyer, an advanced practice nurse in OSF HealthCare’s Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. “I remember there was a genetic counseling posting open for three years that was never filled. Our staff members are really proud that we've been able to make genetic experts and empower them with software that makes them just as qualified, if not more qualified, than our genetic counselors.”
Settelmyer added that “by using CancerIQ in primary care, we’re able to recognize which type of patients are coming into the office every day, and then Epic can send the front desk staff an alert of who is an appropriate patient to be screened by CancerIQ.”
The OSF HealthCare Centers for Breast Health in Peoria has been using CancerIQ for a little over four years, and primary care began rolling it out about five months ago with initial pilots in two clinics. OSF is in the process of setting up a program in GI clinics as well.
Settelmyer noted that transitioning to virtual care helped OSF HealthCare conduct risk assessments and provide genetic testing and counseling to more patients living in rural areas. Once patients are identified, the CancerIQ platform helps them manage long-term care and improve outcomes.
“The broader importance of doing risk assessment in a primary care setting is to make sure that the primary care providers are not delivering one-size-fits-all care,” said Feyi Olopade Ayodele, CancerIQ’s CEO. “If you're a high-risk patient, it means that you need to go through the genetic testing workflow. You may need something like a breast MRI in addition to a mammogram. So the standard communication that you should come in and get your mammogram every year is wrong in that scenario. But by contrast, sometimes if you find a patient that's at average risk, there's also an opportunity to offer cancer screening solutions that may be less invasive and more convenient for patients. So risk stratification in the primary care setting is important for care, not just for high-risk patients, but for average-risk patients so that you're offering what's appropriate.”
McKesson Ventures, OSF Ventures (the investment arm of OSF HealthCare), as well as CancerIQ’s Series A lead investor, HealthX Ventures, also participated in the Series B round.
The new funding will help CancerIQ grow its precision health platform, strengthen its partnership ecosystem, and expand its health system network.
To drive further growth, the company recently added three members to its executive team:
• Laku Adedoyin joined CancerIQ as chief technology officer. Adedoyin has significant expertise in software platform development for companies serving both providers and life science companies; in his previous role as the CTO and Vice President of Product at Bio-Optronics, Adedoyin created a comprehensive clinical trial management system that’s now used by leading research centers and health systems. Prior to Bio-Optronics, Adedoyin led engineering teams at Medrio – a decentralized clinical trial company.
• John Hansel, M.B.A., joined the company as senior vice president of commercial strategy to steer the company’s go-to-market strategy. Hansel previously worked in business development, sales, and partnership development roles, starting at Medeanalytics, where he led the healthcare provider sales team. He then became the first sales leader at HumanAPI and helped design their commercial strategy in the insurance and clinical research markets.
• Matt Valin is CancerIQ’s new vice president of system sales. He is the former vice president of sales for Glooko.
The company said it also plans to hire 50 employees to meet the rising demand for more efficient and innovative cancer prevention services.
The new funding comes one month after a report from the President’s Cancer Panel calling for “urgent and immediate action” to close gaps in cancer screening, risk assessment, and timely follow-up care — particularly among diverse, uninsured or underinsured, and rural populations.
