BrightEdge: Invest in Ending Cancer as We Know It

By Arnold Baskies, MD, Past Chairman of the Board, American Cancer Society On Dec 13, 2022

As a surgeon, I have treated thousands of people with cancer. I’ve witnessed incredible lifesaving progress, and have been honored to play a role in advancing breakthroughs. Due to improved detection techniques and more effective, personalized treatments, cancer deaths have declined 32% since 1991 – that’s 3.5 million lives saved.

Despite that enormous progress, my own family lost our precious granddaughter, Maddie, to a childhood cancer, for which science had few answers. In the wake of grief, I recommitted myself to doing everything in my power to fuel the engine of scientific discovery.

American Cancer Society’s venture capital and impact investing arm, BrightEdge does just that. Because, despite all the progress we’ve made, there are still cancers – including childhood cancers – for which we have few effective treatments. There are still heartbreaking racial and ethnic disparities in the delivery of cancer care. These challenges demand a life-sustaining infusion of resources in innovative startup companies in pursuit of rapid progress and sustainable solutions.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) created BrightEdge in 2019 to diversify its income base, build financial resilience and accelerate its mission through entrepreneurial approaches. BrightEdge invests in for-profit, early-stage companies developing cancer-focused therapeutics, diagnostics, devices, and technologies and seeks to achieve 3-dimensional impact by advancing science, addressing health disparities, and building a sustainable cancer care future.

By making investments for the donor-funded ACS Impact Venture Fund, investment gains support the fund’s portfolio companies while furthering the reach of ACS research and programs. Additionally, BrightEdge invests in companies working on solutions across the cancer patient-care continuum and product value chain – from prevention and disease awareness and cutting-edge treatments, diagnostics, and solutions to patient access.

Since 2019, BrightEdge has made 18 mission-aligned investments, three of which have gone public. BrightEdge is stage-agnostic, but particularly active in Seed and Series A funding rounds. The fund size is approximately $75 million and is on track to reach the $100 million-mark as early as next year.

The fund invests alongside the country’s most prominent venture capital firms – serving as a value-add syndicate partner to validate unmet need and deepen impact through market awareness and patient centric innovation capabilities.

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