BrightEdge

BrightEdge, established in 2019 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is a philanthropic impact fund and the venture capital arm of the American Cancer Society. It invests in early-stage, for-profit companies globally that are developing innovative cancer-focused therapies and technologies, with a mission to accelerate the delivery of promising cancer solutions. BrightEdge's investment decisions are guided by the Society's medical and scientific expertise, aiming to eradicate cancer through strategic capital investment, market awareness, and shared commitment.

Lucas de Breed Ph.D

Director, Investments

Alice Pomponio

Managing Director

20 past transactions

Auron Therapeutics

Series B in 2025
Auron Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company based in Wellesley, Massachusetts, founded in 2018. The company is dedicated to developing innovative therapies for cancer, aiming to shift the traditional focus from merely killing cancer cells to transforming malignant cells into normal, functioning cells through a process known as differentiation therapy. This approach seeks to reactivate the body's innate cellular programs, promoting tumor cell maturation and the restoration of normal tissue. Auron Therapeutics leverages advanced platforms that integrate large genomic datasets and utilize high-throughput flow cytometry to efficiently identify and validate potential drug targets in primary human patient samples. Through its research, the company aims to address significant unmet medical needs in oncology, ultimately striving to deliver life-saving and transformative treatments for cancer patients.

Clasp Therapeutics

Series A in 2024
Clasp Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing innovative cancer immunotherapeutics. The company has created a platform that aims to enhance the ability of the immune system to recognize and eliminate challenging tumors associated with common driver mutations, irrespective of tumor type. By leveraging precision medicine, Clasp Therapeutics seeks to identify cancer-specific markers that allow for the targeted destruction of tumor cells, thereby improving treatment outcomes for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers.

Modifi Bio

Seed Round in 2023
Modifi Biosciences specializes in direct DNA modification and the development of innovative cancer therapeutics. The company focuses on a unique strategy that involves altering tumor DNA to make cancer cells irreparable, while ensuring that healthy cells remain unharmed. This approach allows researchers to challenge and advance traditional methods of oncology drug development, potentially leading to more effective treatments for a variety of cancers. By exploiting DNA defects found in cancer cells, Modifi Biosciences aims to contribute significantly to the field of cancer research and therapy.

Thatch

Pre Seed Round in 2023
Thatch is a health benefits platform designed to help businesses manage employee healthcare effectively. It offers a suite of tools, including ThatchBot, an AI-powered service that assists employees with healthcare inquiries and expense management. Thatch enables companies to create customized healthcare budgets that cater to the specific needs of individual employees. By providing a unified interface for healthcare spending and saving, Thatch facilitates personalized healthcare experiences, allowing employees to navigate their benefits with ease and efficiency.

Thatch

Seed Round in 2023
Thatch is a health benefits platform designed to help businesses manage employee healthcare effectively. It offers a suite of tools, including ThatchBot, an AI-powered service that assists employees with healthcare inquiries and expense management. Thatch enables companies to create customized healthcare budgets that cater to the specific needs of individual employees. By providing a unified interface for healthcare spending and saving, Thatch facilitates personalized healthcare experiences, allowing employees to navigate their benefits with ease and efficiency.

Paradigm

Series A in 2023
Paradigm is rebuilding the clinical research ecosystem by developing a platform that allows all patients equitable access to trials while improving trial efficiency and lowering barriers to participation for healthcare providers. It is an innovative company that is dedicated to transforming the clinical research ecosystem. Their mission is to create a more accessible and equitable healthcare system by developing a platform that enables patients from diverse backgrounds to participate in clinical trials. Clinical trials are essential for testing and developing new drugs, therapies, and medical devices, but historically, they have been plagued by inefficiencies, barriers to access, and inequities in patient representation. Paradigm aims to solve these challenges by creating a platform that uses technology and data-driven insights to streamline the clinical trial process, making it more efficient, cost-effective, and inclusive. The Paradigm platform is designed to facilitate seamless communication and collaboration among all stakeholders involved in clinical research, including patients, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, and regulatory agencies. By leveraging technology such as AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics, Paradigm can identify and match eligible patients to clinical trials, streamline the recruitment and enrollment process, and provide real-time data insights to all stakeholders. Overall, Paradigm's innovative approach to clinical research has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry by improving patient outcomes, reducing healthcare costs, and accelerating the development of new treatments and therapies.

Alpheus Medical

Series A in 2022
Alpheus Medical specializes in innovative treatments for solid body cancers, focusing on a sonodynamic therapy platform. The company has developed a non-invasive drug-device combination specifically designed for the outpatient treatment of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Utilizing photodynamic therapy, Alpheus Medical's surgical device delivers light to target cancer cells that have been treated with a photosensitizer, allowing patients to receive effective treatment while avoiding the need for invasive brain surgery. This approach underscores the company's commitment to improving patient outcomes through advanced medical technologies.

Vincere Health

Seed Round in 2022
Vincere Health Inc. is a health technology company based in Allston, Massachusetts, founded in 2019 at the Harvard Innovation Labs. The company specializes in developing a health engagement platform aimed at assisting users in quitting smoking and making healthier choices. Its application combines behavioral nudges, evidence-based interventions, and personalized coaching, allowing users to set individual goals and monitor their progress. Users engage with the platform by using an attachable breathalyzer device to verify adherence to their smoking reduction goals. The application incentivizes users with periodic financial rewards for reducing their smoking and achieving cessation. By leveraging real-time health data and intelligent incentives, Vincere Health addresses significant healthcare challenges, particularly in smoking cessation and chronic disease management.

Meliora Therapeutics

Seed Round in 2022
Meliora Therapeutics is a biotech startup focused on developing innovative cancer therapies by leveraging a machine learning-driven platform. The company aims to identify the true mechanisms of action (MOA) of oncology medications through its proprietary prediction atlas, which maps drug mechanisms. This approach streamlines the drug development process by eliminating a significant and costly phase, thereby allowing researchers to advance their work more efficiently. By focusing on the precise actions of molecules of interest, Meliora Therapeutics seeks to enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatments and contribute to life-saving medical advancements in oncology.

Naveris

Series A in 2022
Naveris Inc. is a biotechnology company specializing in the development of sensitive blood tests for early cancer detection and improved patient outcomes. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, Naveris offers NavDx, a blood test that identifies human papillomavirus-associated cancers by quantifying tumor-specific DNA fragments present in the bloodstream. The company's innovative 3D biomimetic technology accurately replicates the complexity of human tissues and tumors, facilitating early diagnosis in asymptomatic individuals, real-time monitoring of treatment responses, and detection of cancer recurrence in patients who are in remission. By enhancing the ability to analyze patient tumors ex vivo, Naveris aims to support precision medicine and optimize clinical trial designs in oncology.

Auron Therapeutics

Series A in 2022
Auron Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company based in Wellesley, Massachusetts, founded in 2018. The company is dedicated to developing innovative therapies for cancer, aiming to shift the traditional focus from merely killing cancer cells to transforming malignant cells into normal, functioning cells through a process known as differentiation therapy. This approach seeks to reactivate the body's innate cellular programs, promoting tumor cell maturation and the restoration of normal tissue. Auron Therapeutics leverages advanced platforms that integrate large genomic datasets and utilize high-throughput flow cytometry to efficiently identify and validate potential drug targets in primary human patient samples. Through its research, the company aims to address significant unmet medical needs in oncology, ultimately striving to deliver life-saving and transformative treatments for cancer patients.

Persephone Biosciences

Seed Round in 2022
Persephone Biome, Inc. is a San Diego-based company focused on researching and developing products and therapies that modify gut microbial metabolism, particularly in relation to cancer treatment. Established in 2017, the company is creating innovative solutions aimed at enhancing the efficacy of oncology drugs by retuning the gut microbiome. This includes the development of a pill containing beneficial gut bacteria. In addition to its therapeutics, Persephone Biome aims to offer nutritional products that support the human gut microbiome, producing functional foods and beverages that cater to the growing consumer demand for health-oriented products. The company has plans to enter clinical trials to further advance its initiatives in the field of microbiome-directed therapies.

CellCentric

Venture Round in 2022
CellCentric Ltd. is a biotechnology company based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, focused on developing innovative cancer therapeutics. Established in 2003, the company specializes in small-molecule inhibitors targeting p300, CBP, and specific deubiquitinase enzymes, which play a crucial role in regulating gene expression in cancer cells. Its primary research program addresses prostate cancer, a significant cause of male mortality, by modulating the androgen receptor pathway and potentially overcoming resistance mechanisms found in existing treatments. Additionally, CellCentric's products have applications in treating other cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer. The company's approach aims to provide targeted therapies for various malignancies, addressing unmet medical needs in the oncology field.

Alpheus Medical

Series A in 2021
Alpheus Medical specializes in innovative treatments for solid body cancers, focusing on a sonodynamic therapy platform. The company has developed a non-invasive drug-device combination specifically designed for the outpatient treatment of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Utilizing photodynamic therapy, Alpheus Medical's surgical device delivers light to target cancer cells that have been treated with a photosensitizer, allowing patients to receive effective treatment while avoiding the need for invasive brain surgery. This approach underscores the company's commitment to improving patient outcomes through advanced medical technologies.

TailorMed

Venture Round in 2021
TailorMed Medical Ltd., established in 2017 and based in Tel Aviv, Israel, specializes in health IT solutions. The company develops and provides financial navigation technology and systems, designed to streamline and automate financial processes for both patients and healthcare providers. Their offerings include TailorMed Financial Navigation, a platform to manage and automate financial processes; TailorMed Financial Insights, an analytics and reporting dashboard to track and measure key performance indicators; and TailorMed Pharmacy, a platform to simplify drug ordering, tracking, and billing based on patient treatment regimens.

Auron Therapeutics

Seed Round in 2021
Auron Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company based in Wellesley, Massachusetts, founded in 2018. The company is dedicated to developing innovative therapies for cancer, aiming to shift the traditional focus from merely killing cancer cells to transforming malignant cells into normal, functioning cells through a process known as differentiation therapy. This approach seeks to reactivate the body's innate cellular programs, promoting tumor cell maturation and the restoration of normal tissue. Auron Therapeutics leverages advanced platforms that integrate large genomic datasets and utilize high-throughput flow cytometry to efficiently identify and validate potential drug targets in primary human patient samples. Through its research, the company aims to address significant unmet medical needs in oncology, ultimately striving to deliver life-saving and transformative treatments for cancer patients.

Tmunity

Series B in 2019
Tmunity Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotherapeutics company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that specializes in the development of innovative immunotherapies for cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmune disorders. Founded in 2015, Tmunity focuses on harnessing the potential of T cells through novel technologies, including T Cell Receptor (TCR) engineered T cells and regulatory T cells (Treg). The company has developed advanced platforms that allow for precise control over T cell activation and direction in vivo, as well as proprietary methods for activating, expanding, and genetically engineering T cells sourced from peripheral blood, cord blood, and tumors. Tmunity aims to advance personalized next-generation immunotherapies and has a team of experts with extensive experience in T-cell biology and clinical development, enhancing its capability to conduct safe and effective clinical trials. Its robust manufacturing platform supports multi-center clinical studies across various therapeutic areas, positioning Tmunity at the forefront of immunotherapy innovation.

Navigating Cancer

Series D in 2019
Navigating Cancer, Inc., established in 2008 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, operates a Web-based patient care portal designed specifically for cancer programs. This platform enables cancer survivors to receive, organize, and understand their medical information, track their health, and engage with healthcare professionals. It also offers educational resources on various types of cancer and chemotherapy treatments. The portal aims to simplify practice workflows for healthcare providers, facilitate patient-centered care, and improve overall outcomes by empowering patients through technology.

Castle Biosciences

Convertible Note in 2019
Castle Biosciences, Inc. is a commercial-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Friendswood, Texas, specializing in diagnostic and prognostic tests for dermatological cancers. The company develops innovative genomic tests to aid physicians and patients in making informed treatment decisions. Its flagship product, DecisionDx-Melanoma, is a multi-gene expression profile test designed to identify stage I and II melanoma patients at high risk of metastasis. Additionally, Castle Biosciences offers the DecisionDx-UM test, which assesses the risk of metastasis in patients with uveal melanoma, a rare eye cancer. The company is also advancing two proprietary tests aimed at addressing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and suspicious pigmented lesions, both of which represent significant clinical needs in dermatological oncology. Through its products, Castle Biosciences aims to provide personalized and actionable genomic information, thereby enhancing cancer diagnosis and management.

Alpheus Medical

Alpheus Medical specializes in innovative treatments for solid body cancers, focusing on a sonodynamic therapy platform. The company has developed a non-invasive drug-device combination specifically designed for the outpatient treatment of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Utilizing photodynamic therapy, Alpheus Medical's surgical device delivers light to target cancer cells that have been treated with a photosensitizer, allowing patients to receive effective treatment while avoiding the need for invasive brain surgery. This approach underscores the company's commitment to improving patient outcomes through advanced medical technologies.
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