India is one of the few countries afflicted by an agonizing increase in cancer-related catastrophe, with reportedly about 71% of deaths being in the age group of 30-69 years. The estimated number of incident cases of cancer in India for the year 2022 was found to be 14,61,427. An even more devastating report finds that in India, one in nine people are likely to develop cancer in his/her lifetime.
It is also estimated that there are 2.25 million cases of cancer in India every year, which doubles every 10 years. Three quarters of these cancers are detected in the late stages and mortality rates are devastatingly high because of lack of access to standardized cancer care.
But on a positive note, in countries where health systems are strong, survival rates of many types of cancers are high with early detection, quality treatment and post-cure treatments. It is even more optimistic to see the cancer survivorship statistics where it is reported that more than 18 million Americans with a history of cancer were alive on January 1, 2022.
For the Warriors
In this article, we will look at some Indian startups working at different fronts to make cancer diagnosis, treatments and post-care easy, accessible and convenient.
NIRAMAI: Bengaluru-based healthcare startup NIRAMAI or Non-Invasive Risk Assessment with Machine Intelligence has developed an early breast cancer detection technology that is radiation-free and non-invasive. The solution is based on thermal imaging and is portable, accurate, and can be used for women of all ages.
Founded in 2016 by Geetha Manjunath, the company works with NGOs and government bodies for breast cancer screening-related programs. In an enterprise solution, it provides management solutions for diagnostics centers and hospitals, working on a revenue share basis where Niramai receives the payment as and when Thermalytix is used for breast cancer screening.
Canfem: Canfem is a social enterprise working towards helping breast cancer survivors get back into society with dignity. They provide various products and services, specially tailored for breast cancer survivors giving them the best comfort and style. Their products include cotton fabric based premium external breast prosthesis and designer mastectomy brassier. Both are of premium quality in an affordable range.
The startup also provides counselling services to cancer patients and are working towards building a peer to peer counselling support. Initiating on breast cancer awareness, the startup specifically focuses on behavior change among young women, inculcating a habit in them of practicing breast self-examination regularly.
Ezymeds Innovations: Founded in 2015,ezymeds is an innovative cloud based digital platform that facilitates to connect the Patients, Pharmacies, Doctors, Therapists and many other healthcare service providers by aggregating the Best-In-Class-Industry-Services available in the customer’s neighborhood.
Turbine — Hungary: Founded in 2016, Turbine is leveraging AI-powered technology to understand oncology patients by simulating cells. Its simulation platform can model how cancer works on the molecular level and test millions of potential drugs. Having raised its €20m Series A in November last year, the startup has already made good progress, and announced a partnership with Cancer Research UK in January.
Ariceum Therapeutics — Germany: Ariceum Therapeutics is developing novel targeting molecules to treat cancer, which recognise and bind structures on the tumour cell surface. The targeted nature of this systemic approach will reduce the exposure of healthy tissue — compared to typical chemotherapy — and will minimise side effects. Only a few drugs that follow this concept have been approved.
PredOmix: This is an innovation-driven company that aims to pioneer in the field of health tech. We integrate multi-dimensional approaches and leverage the power of artificial intelligence, to develop new technologies in the fields of preventive healthcare and early-stage disease diagnosis. Recently, in January 24, 2023, the startup has launched one-of-its-kind innovative cancer detection blood test, OncoVeryx-F which is capable of detecting early-stage cancers in women with 98% accuracy.
Invictus Oncology: Founded in 2011 by Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar and Dr. Shiladitya Sengupta, Invictus Oncology is a biotechnology company pioneering exciting new types of cancer solutions, particularly focused at present on Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). The company aims to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to research, with the ultimate goal of a paradigm shift in cancer care and also develops therapeutics for cancer treatment.
Be the Warrior..!
“It’s possible not just to survive, but to thrive and to live a healthy, wonderful life again…”
When life gives you a thousand fatal chances to fall, learn to get up and walk more briskly. Sounds easy but practically tough?! Read about these warriors who fought against the odds in their life and created a magical signature of undefeatable willpower. These personalities are teaching us to live life differently, learn to accept the change and head up to secure your Tiara of strength. Here is an inspiring list of Cancer-Survivor turned Entrepreneurs too…!
Dr. Sandhya Menon (Heal365):
Dr. Sandhya is an extraordinary individual who has worn many hats in her life. She is a physician, a cancer survivor, an entrepreneur, a mother, a leader, an innovator, and a visionary. As an entrepreneur, Dr. Sandhya has created successful businesses in the healthcare industry, developing innovative solutions to meet the needs of patients and providers alike. She has shown leadership and vision in navigating the rapidly changing healthcare landscape, and her entrepreneurial spirit has inspired others to follow in her footsteps.
Her startup name is Heal365 that aims to deliver quality healthcare with compassion and dedication. All this by keeping in mind that you receive quality and affordable healthcare at the comfort of your home. They hire nurses who have passed our rigorous hiring standards and have had their backgrounds and medical knowledge verified by senior doctors. Heal365 is a healthcare service provider based in Kerala, India, with offices in multiple cities. The startup’s vision is to create a community where every individual has access to the medical care they need and deserve.
Amritendu Mukherjee (NeuroPixel.AI Labs):
Amritendu Mukherjee, who is a researcher, cancer survivor and entrepreneur, is the Co-Founder & CTO at NeuroPixel.AI Labs. It is a deep tech startup that works in application of advanced AI/ML and statistical learning theory in Computer Vision and Image Processing area for online retail storefronts. They have associated with some of the best Researchers and Professors in our field from IISc, ISB and IITs. The startup is funded and backed by Entrepreneur First, a renowned Global Accelerator in the DeepTech space.
Sandeep Kumar (DigiSwasthya):
Sandeep Kumar is a childhood cancer survivor turned entrepreneur. He established a healthcare platform in 2021, DigiSwasthya is making healthcare accessible and affordable across rural India by leveraging technology. They have a phygital hybrid model where we help the rural community avail healthcare services via tele-consultations with doctors from tier 1 hospitals. Their panel of healthcare professionals includes doctors across all specialisations and languages.
The patient navigator at our centre measures the vitals using digital devices, shares them with the doctors, facilitates a consultation through a telemedicine platform, generates an electronic medical record, generates a prescription, translates the instructions, etc. DigiSwasthya has been organizing weekly webinars to increase awareness about healthcare, and on-ground awareness camps to educate the masses about telemedicine. Their team goes from village to village with educational material and teaches them how to avail affordable and accessible services through DigiSwasthya’s Telemedicine Centers.
Vanessa Perumal ( JT Communication solutions)
A passionate Pan Africanist, Vanessa is a futurist and has positioned her expertise, skill sets, career and business mastery in offering African Solutions to global problems. Vanessa is a pioneer, connector, innovator, visionary, activist, change agent, feminist, social entrepreneur, humanitarian. Having launched JT Communication solutions in 2004 Vanessa continues to disrupt business models to create innovative solutions in the media, marketing and communications sector. A passionate pan-Africanist and social entrepreneur, Vanessa believes in exploring the power of digital in a technology era to transform the way we produce and distribute African content. She has successfully scaled her business from a traditional PR, Publicity and Communications agency to include a turnkey 360 degree Media and visual solution which even in its infancy is gaining attention.
Elana Koenig (Koenig Childhood Cancer Foundation):
In 2016, Elana Koenig, who was 7 years old, was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer, in her hip. She was in the hospital for well over a year, enduring nine cycles of chemotherapy and 15 surgeries.
Elana fought stronger, and she is now cancer free. Once she got released from the captivity of a fatal illness, the small package of positivity and strength literally used her piggy bank to start the Koenig Childhood Cancer Foundation (KCCF), an organization that fundraises for life-saving financial and emotional support for kids and their families dealing with cancer. Soon, Elana reached people all over the world with her 17,000+ Instagram followers and raised $1.5 million in just two and a half years.
We’re on this together…!
Although we have made great progress in fighting cancer, conventional cancer treatments often come with greater side effects. Therefore, a lot of research goes into new therapies that attack cancer in a targeted and increasingly differentiated manner in order to generate the best possible effectiveness with tolerable side effects.
The fight against cancer will not stop in the future. But the aim of all the efforts is that patients who have been diagnosed with cancer, can receive the right treatment at the right time at the right dose – giving them more time, with more quality of life, or even let the cancer not return for the rest of their life.
The innovative brains are making this possible and spreading the ray of hope more bright…!
