Oncology Ventures: Partnership with Moffitt + ASCO Takeaways + Comedy
Investing in healthcare data startups that enhance cancer care and research.
Oncology Ventures Fund Updates
Oncology Ventures is excited to announce a new strategic partnership with Moffitt Cancer Center:
Moffitt ranks among the top 10 cancer hospitals in the U.S. and foremost in Florida and the Southeast
They are an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center with over 9,000 team members (including a robust research organization of over 1,600 professionals), treating more than 68,000 patients annually
The Cancer Center achieves survival rates up to 4 times higher than national averages
Congrats to our first portfolio company, OncoveryCare, on raising their $4.5M Seed round! Look forward to partnering with Tennessee Oncology and .406 Ventures as we all seek to improve cancer survivorship care. More detail here
Highlights from the 2024 ASCO Conference
Oncology Ventures attended the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology conference, which brought together over 40k oncology professionals to discuss innovation in cancer care.
A few takeaways from studies and sessions:
Cancer patients and survivors need to have access to low-deductible health plans to avoid compromising their care and survival.
Cancer survivors with high-deductible health plans had a nearly 1.5x higher risk of mortality.
Video-based palliative care was proven as effective as in-person visits in improving patients' quality of life.
“National guidelines recommend the early integration of palliative and oncology care for patients with advanced cancer, given robust evidence showing that this care model improves quality of life… However, due to limited access and resources, most patients do not receive early palliative care in the outpatient setting.”
Headline-making weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy could also lower people’s risk of developing cancers linked to obesity.
Study found patients taking the drugs were 19% less likely to develop any of the 13 cancers we know are linked to being overweight. These include ovarian, liver, colorectal, pancreatic, bowel and breast cancer.
There is a push to increase the awareness and adoption of genomic/biomarker testing, and physicians and patients are being encouraged to get these evaluations done as early as possible after diagnosis.
This can not only help identify the best treatments for patients, they can also help with diagnosis and regular monitoring, all of which can improve patient outcomes.
ASCO has launched a task force to evaluate how generative AI could positively impact the lives of oncology professionals and their patients.
Early focus is on assisting with clinical decision support and improving researcher productivity.
Recent trend of sponsors conducting trials in larger countries like China, where one study showed remarkable effectiveness in treating lung cancer.
Though the Director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence shared he is “pro-multi-country trials,” showcasing the increased importance of diversification of trial and patient data.
Cancer vaccines emerged as a key focus, alongside new drug classes and mechanisms that are being explored, notably Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs).
ADCs represent a significant advancement in cancer therapy, offering targeted therapies with enhanced efficacy and reduced toxicity. ADCs have gained regulatory approval for various tumor types, with notable success in breast cancer.
Researchers presented results of trials testing several drugs for advanced and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as well as long overdue progress in treating limited-stage small-cell lung cancer.
A trial showed that patients with Stage 3 metastatic NSCLC who have an EGFR mutation “Should get Osimertinib. Period.” (Brand name is Tagrisso).
Comedy!
A lot of you have been asking me to do more cancer comedy. But, I feel bad doing comedy about cancer, because I was pretty good at cancer. Not to brag, but I got all the way to stage 3.
So, instead we're going to talk about Michelin Tires. The company responsible for your car not skidding off the road during a rainstorm is actually the same group who launched Michelin Stars, ranking our world's best restaurants.
They were like "Oh, you like our tires? Then you'll love our take on French cuisine." I always appreciate when my mechanic is under my car mid-tire rotation and pokes his head out to say "hey boss, by the way, you simply must try the foie gras at Le Bernardin".
Other arguably more qualified companies have tried making these top restaurant lists, but world renowned food critics were like, “Ehh we're just going to listen to the big doughy tire cartoon character. He seems like he knows good food.”
It was a smart move by Michelin - they launched the program to encourage early automobile owners to drive more, and even go out of their way to get to a 3-star restaurant, which means more wear on their tires. Would've been more efficient to just sponsor the cross-country road trips Swifties are going on for the Eras Tour.
The other company that’s working on a few seemingly disparate product lines is Forbes. You know, the website where in order to read 12 words you have to click out of 23 ads. You can't read an article without accidentally buying a timeshare in Cabo. This advertising company writes the famous 30 under 30 lists. It’s like taking career advice from Billy Mays.
I am aware that this is all being told to you by a cancer venture capital investor doing stand-up comedy. And for some reason, being self-aware is a free pass. Since I know comedy isn’t my day job, suddenly, it's not a career crisis, it's a charming side hustle.
Asks
If you ever see “cancer” and “data” together in a start-up deck or article, please continue to send our way.
If you, or someone you know, is a decision maker for oncology data products and services at a cancer center, healthcare system, pharma company or health plan, we would love to meet and talk cancer innovation.
Billy mays 30 under 30 is an all time quip